Egyptian Christian shot in Libya

Unknown assailants shot an Egyptian Citizen on Sunday in the Libyan city of Benghazi, the Middle East News Agency reported.

Salama Fawzy Tobia, a Christian Egyptian, was shot at the local market in Benghazi on Sunday afternoon. The victim was later taken to hospital, said Libyan security official Ibrahim al-Shara. Salama worked at a local store.

Al-Shara added that investigations are underway, and that the reason for the attack is unknown.

This is the latest in a series of attacks on Egyptians in Libya. In February, seven Christian Egyptians were shot dead in Benghazi. The victims were all handcuffed and were found with wounds to the head and chest. The ambulance that transferred the bodies was attacked on the way to the hospital and both the driver and a medic were also injured. According to media reports, the attack might have been sectarian.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement later on Sunday denouncing the violence against Egyptians in Libya and requesting an immediate investigation by the Libyan authorities into the deaths of the seven Egyptian citizens in Benghazi, privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.

In January, four staff members from the Egyptian Embassy in Tripoli were kidnapped in retaliation for the arrest of the chairman of the Operation Room of Libya's Revolutionaries in Alexandria.