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Libya

Thousands of foreigners and refugees flee Libya

Foreigners and refugees have been fleeing the violence spurned by the uprising in Libya by the thousands, overwhelming border controls and airports.

Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
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About 15,000 of Egyptians poured over the border for the safety of their home on Wednesday, according to UN sources.

"Before the Libyans wanted to exploit us," said a man named Mohammed who worked in the city of Tobruk, where he said protesters went out of their way to protect foreigners. "Now they wanted to help us."

Millions of expatriates, including an estimated 1.5 million Egyptians, live and work in oil-rich Libya, which depends on foreign workers for its economic prosperity.

On the western border of Libya, the Red Crescent humanitarian organisation said Wednesday that more than 5,700 Tunisians and Libyans had fled into Tunisia over the past two days.

"After what Kadhafi said yesterday, we fear a massive, catastrophic exodus," said Hadi Nadri, a Red Crescent official, referring to a speech in which Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi vowed to remain and power and fight to the last drop of blood the previous evening.

Many more are expected to arrive as violence spurned by the unrest continues.

"We expect thousands of Libyan refugees to pour into Tunisia," Nadri said. "We are bracing for the worst."

The United Nations refugee agency said it was "imperative" that Tunisia and Egypt keep their borders open for people fleeing the bloodshed.

Emergency services deployed medical units to provide first aid to the arrivals.

At Gatwick Airport in London, new arrivals described scenes of fear and chaos they saw as they left the country.

Phil Sperinck, a teacher from southeast England who had been teaching in a school an hour from Tripoli, described dire conditions at the capital's airport.

"The airport is horrendous," he said. "There are thousands of people sitting outside."

A Libyan woman who arrived on the same flight said Tripoli turned into a ghost town over the past several days as people fled the city.

Other nations made moves on Wednesday to facilitate the movement of those who wished to leave the troubled country.

The European Union said it will provide "extra evacuation capacity" to help bring out an estimated 10,000 stranded EU citizens.

Turkey evacuated 6000 citizens, while France, Russia, Bulgaria and Canada were evacuating hundreds.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyaju said Israel would allow 300 Palestinians to escape the violence, at the request of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

A ferry chartered by the United States to evacuate embassy staff and American citizens reportedly docked in Tripoli and was expected to leave for Malta.

The International Federation of Human Rights reported at least 640 people have been killed since the uprising began on 15 February, while Italy's foreign affairs minister says the death toll could reach 1,000.

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