Libya flies Egyptian emigrants home
Libya has deported scores of Egyptian workers after preventing them from illegally emigrating to Italy.
An airport official confirmed on Sunday that over 230 Egyptians had been repatriated.
The would-be-immigrants arrived at Cairo airport overnight aboard a special chartered plane.
Several told journalists that security forces had arrested them while preparing to board a boat for Italy along the northern Libyan coast.
Expensive failure
Most said they paid around $1600 each to an Egyptian and a Libyan who had promised to take them to Italy.
On 14 October, some 129 Egyptians were deported from Libya for the same reasons.
Some of those repatriated complained of ill-treatment during their detention.
Italy has for years accused Libya of being a staging area for illegal immigration.
Over 200 people drowned trying to enter Italy illegally in June, a tragedy that led Rome and Tripoli to sign a cooperation agreement aimed at fighting the problem of illegal immigration.