Copts rejoice for prospect of retrieving martyrs’ bodies from Libya

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Mon, 02 Oct 2017 - 10:04 GMT

BY

Mon, 02 Oct 2017 - 10:04 GMT

20 Coptic martyrs - YouTube

20 Coptic martyrs - YouTube

CAIRO – 2 October 2017: The possibility of retrieving the bodies of 20 Coptic martyrs from Libya after Libyan authorities declared that they identified their burial places, rejoiced their families.

Chief of Investigations at the Libyan Public Prosecution, Al-Sadiq Al-Sour, said on Friday that the burial place of the 20 Coptic laborers and one Ghanaian beheaded by ISIS in 2015 has been identified. Their bodies will be dug out and delivered to their families with the cooperation of Egyptian authorities.

Their families have received the news with joy. Their bodies will be buried in the church built in their names in the village of Al-Our in Minya, Upper Egypt, once they have been retrieved. A funeral will be organized for them, as well.

“We are in continuous contact with the authorities to ensure the return of their bodies,” said the brother of one of the martyrs.

This comes in the aftermath of the Libyan authorities’ announcement that they had captured one of the militants involved in the crime: the cameraman who videotaped the beheading which took place behind Mahary Hotel west of Sirte.

The militant gave the Libyan authorities all the details about the Islamic State militants that beheaded the Copts, said Sour during a press conference held in Tripoli on September 28.

He also informed the authorities about the names of other victims, including their nationalities and the place of their burial.
One day after the video of the mass killing of Christians was released, Egyptian warplanes bombed Islamic State weapons caches and training camps in Libya to avenge the bloodshed of the Coptic martyrs.

Due to deteriorating security in Libya, Egypt has closed its borders with Libya except for the Salloum border crossing, to allow Egyptian expatriates to return to Egypt. Even though, despite instability, many Egyptians chose to remain in Libya.

After killing 20 Coptic Egyptian migrant workers, Egypt renewed its warning to its citizens to avoid travelling to Libya.

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