Egyptian borders guards have prevented 170 people from crossing into Libya through Salloum in Marsa Matrouh, Al-Ahram Arabic Website reported on Thursday.

Those detained are three Sudanese and 167 Egyptians from governorates including Cairo, Kafr El-Sheikh, Qena and Sohag.

They were while passing through desert passages, south of Salloum.

In April, Egypt renewed its warnings to its citizens to avoid travel to Libya as the security situation remains dangerous in the country following the beheading of 20 Coptic Egyptian migrant workers by the Islamic State group. 

Libya is a hot spot for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean for Europe. 

The International Organisation for Migration estimates that between 330,000 and 1.5 million Egyptians worked in Libya until the ongoing unrest that began with the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.