Eighty-three Egyptians have been caught trying to illegally cross the border into conflict-stricken Libya, state news agency MENA reported Sunday.

A report was filed with the military misdemeanor authority, and the prosecution is currently investigating the incident.

The migrant labourers, who were apprehended in a “military zone” west of Saloum city, hail mainly came from Upper Egypt, including 30 from Minya, 19 from Assiut, four from Qena and two from Sohag.

The captured included six people from Beheira and one from Kafr El Sheikh, both governorates in the Nile Delta, 14 from Fayoum, two from Beni Suef in central Egypt, and five from Cairo and Giza.

The Egyptian government on Thursday renewed calls on its citizens to avoid travel to Libya as the security situation remains dangerous in the country. ­

Many Egyptians have been kidnapped or killed recently in Libya, including 20 Copts who were decapitated by the Islamic State group near Derna.

The oil-rich country has long attracted Egyptian workers for well-paid employment.

The International Organisation for Migration estimates that between 330,000 and 1.5 million Egyptians worked in Libya before civil war broke out following the uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

However, the number of Egyptian expats has dwindled since, although it is not clear how many Egyptians remain.

Following the ouster of long-time dictator Gaddafi, various Libyan militias have been fighting the central government in a civil war that has ravaged the country.

An internationally recognised parliament currently operates out of the city of Tobruk in the east, while anti-government rebels control the capital Tripoli in the west.