More than 25,000 Egyptians fled Libya after the Islamic State released a video showing the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians, kidnapped in the city of Sirte. According to some estimates, approximately 700,000 Egyptians are working in Libya.
The footage emerged February 15, prompting Egypt and Libya to conduct a series of joint bombings on ISIL positions in Libya. Cairo also urged hundreds of thousands of Egyptian citizens working in Libya to leave the country and return home.
