Update: Egyptians in Libya weren’t kidnapped, will return home soon, says MoFA

After several media reports regarding the alleged kidnapping of 70 Egyptians in Libya, early Friday evening the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a clarification that radically changed the facts of the case.

The Egyptians in question had not in fact been kidnapped, but were arrested for violating residency regulations, according to Aly al-Asheiry, the ministry's assistant for consulates. He added that there were only 46 individuals implicated, not 70 as earlier reports had suggested, and that after their papers were reviewed they would return home to Egypt.

Earlier on Friday the ministry had issued a statement declaring it was fighting for the safety of 70 Egyptians kidnapped in Libya.

The statement claimed that the Egyptians were kidnapped in Tripoli by armed groups in military uniform, and had been taken to the Anti-Crime Department, the same unit that had previously claimed responsibility for abducting Libya’s prime minister.

Foreign Affairs Minister Nabil Fahmy was following the case and working with the Libyan authorities for their release, said the ministry spokesperson, as reported in the state-owned news site EgyNews.

The ministry had asked Egyptians to avoid travel to Libya except for urgent cases, and to only travel there via air.

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.

In addition to the recent spate of kidnappings, there has also been a series of deadly attacks on Egyptians in Libya.

In February, seven Christian Egyptians were shot dead in Benghazi. The victims were found handcuffed, with bullet wounds to the head and chest.