The 21 Martyrs of Libya

The Coptic Martyrs of Libya are a group of 21 mostly Egyptian Christians, belonging to the Coptic community, who were executed on February 15, 2015 on a beach in Sirte by militiamen of the Islamic State in Libya.

The video of the massacre was broadcast by the terrorist group's propaganda channels. A few days later, on February 21, the primate of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Tawadros II, entered the names of the 21 victims in the catalog of Coptic saints. These 20 Egyptians and this probable Ghanaian had immigrated to the Sirte region in the hope of a better life. They are mostly from the village of Al-Nour or el-Our according to another transcription, near Al-Minya in Middle Egypt.

They will be kidnapped by Islamic State militiamen in Libya between December 2014 and January 2015 because of their Christian loyalty. In numerous propaganda videos, Daesh boasts of its hatred against the Coptic community. All decked out in a bright orange jumpsuit, they were executed on February 15, 2015 on a beach in Libya, probably near Sirte. The collective beheading is staged by Daesh propaganda channels.

It is therefore without filter that we witness the killing of the twenty Egyptians and that we see the Islamist militiamen brandishing their heads. The vast majority of Internet sites and blogs, out of respect for the victims and their families and by refusing an unhealthy voyeurism, do not put this video online, contenting themselves with extracting a few photos bearing witness to the horror. .

On October 7, 2017, after the capture of jihadist fighters after the battle of Sirte and their interrogation, the bodies of the 21 victims were discovered and exhumed from a mass grave near Sirte.