Egypt's Prime Minister Sherif Ismail told journalists on Thursday that the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was following closely the murder of up to 30 Egyptian migrants in Libya.

The ministry announced on Wednesday that 12 to 16 Egyptian migrants were killed in a fight with human traffickers in the city of Bani Walid in Libya.

According to Libyan sources, a group of Egyptian migrants had killed a number of human traffickers near Bani Walid over a dispute. The 30 migrants were later arrested at a security checkpoint and were detained in the city.

The Egyptians were reportedly attacked while in detention by associates of the human traffickers.

The number of victims killed is not yet clear, as Libyan, UN and Egyptian officials have given differing estimates ranging from 16 to 30. 

In 2015, the Egyptian government issued a warning to Egyptian citizens to avoid travel to Libya after the Islamic State militant group killed 20 Egyptian workers near Derna.

The warning was renewed later that year and remains in effect, as the security situation in the country is still unstable.