An Egyptian national was killed in a shootout between an “armed gang” and a military patrol in north-east Libya on Sunday as 17 Egyptian nationals were deported from Benghazi for forged visas.
State TV reported that the fallen Egyptian was an illegal immigrant who died during an exchange of fire between the Omar Mukhtar Brigade and smugglers in the town of Batnan.
It is unclear whether or not the Egyptian was a smuggler or if he was directly involved in the activities of the “armed gang”.
On Saturday members of the Omar Mukhtar Brigade arrested 50 illegal immigrants.
On Sunday 17 Egyptians arrived in Cairo after being deported from Libya for having forged visas. The 17 Egyptians claimed that they received their visas from a tourist office.
Tensions between Egypt and its troubled neighbour Libya have been on the rise recently as a string of killings and kidnappings has targeted Egyptian nationals.
Within a period of four days in late March, two Egyptians were shot and killed in Benghazi. Earlier in the month, another Egyptian national was gunned down in the same city.
In response to the spate of killings, Egypt issued a travel ban on Libya in March. The foreign ministry called on Egyptians in Libya to take caution during their travel within the country.
Libya has been plagued by violence and instability since the NATO-backed civil war ousted Muammar Gaddafi from power on 23 October 2011.