At least 15 people killed as Libyan smugglers clash with Egyptian migrants
Egypt's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that up to 16 Egyptians may have been killed in Libya during a clash with people smugglers.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) put the toll at 12 Egyptians and three Libyans.
Tarhouna General Hospital in Libya confirmed on Thursday that it had received the bodies of 12 Egyptians killed in the clash.
However, Libya's charge d'affaires in Egypt, Mohammed Saleh, said that as many as 30 Egyptians could have been killed, stressing that investigations are ongoing.
According to reports in Reuters the fight broke out after a pay dispute during which the migrants killed three Libyan smugglers. They were then picked up by police, but a smuggler later went to the police station and opened fired, killing the migrants, a Libyan state official told the agency.
Seven Egyptians are also believed to have been detained in connection with the incident, Egyptian website Mada Masr reported.
Officials in the Libyan town of Bani Walid, which rests around 160 kilometres southeast of the Libyan capital Tripoli and is controlled by several groups, could not immediately be reached for comment.
A spokesperson for the Egyptian embassy in Libya, which is currently operating out of Cairo because of the security situation in Libya, said that the ambassador is in touch with local officials and tribal leaders in the aftermath of the incident.
Libya, which borders Egypt to the west, has slid into chaos and has become a launching pad for people seeking to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
"Preliminary information points to between 12 and 16 Egyptian illegal migrants having been killed in clashes with smuggler gangs," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said the incident took place in the town of Bani Walid, a transit point for migrants heading north to the capital Tripoli.
In a statement, UNSMIL Martin Kobler condemned the violence.
"I strongly deplore these terrible killings and call on those with authority on the ground in Bani Walid to ensure that the incidents are investigated and to prevent any further killings," he said.
Control of Libya is currently contested between three rival governments and several militias, while the Islamic State group's affiliate in the North African country has taken over the port city of Sirte.
Amid the ongoing unrest, an estimated 350,000 people have set sail to Italy from Libya since the start of 2014.
The United States on Monday offered its backing for a NATO naval operation off Libya in support of a controversial Italian plan to close the Western Mediterranean migrant route to Europe.
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