ICC Note: The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedom has sent a public message to Libyan authorities demanded to know where its missing Christians are. The group appealed to Egyptian authorities to put pressure on Libya in finding Egypt’s Christians, who were kidnapped by the Islamic State while briefly working or vacationing in Libya over the last year.

2/16/2016 Egypt (International Business Times) – A year has passed since the Islamic State group released a video purportedly showing the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya, and now Egyptian activists are demanding answers. In a public call, the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, a human rights group, demanded that Libyan authorities investigate the whereabouts of at least eight Christians who remain missing and chided the Egyptian government for remaining quiet, Middle East Eye reported Tuesday.

Appealing to Libyan and Egyptian authorities, the group recounts the events that led to the kidnappings. In one case, some of the victims were on their way back to Egypt, but were stopped at a checkpoint controlled by the extremist group, also known as ISIS, in their stronghold of Sirte, Libya. After asking them their religion, ISIS took the four Christians, while releasing an Egyptian Muslim colleague.

ISIS militants have managed to gain a foothold in Libya, which has been ravaged by civil war since an uprising, backed by Western countries, ousted and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Since then, a power struggle has erupted between two main factions, allowing militant and extremist groups to gain a grip on lawless parts of the country.

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