The exodus of foreigners from Libya gathered pace Sunday as the government said at least 22 people were killed in clashes in Tripoli and warned of a "worsening humanitarian situation". Thousands of Egyptians seeking to flee the strife-torn North African country were being airlifted home after being allowed into neighbouring Tunisia, many after a wait of several days at a border crossing. And a British navy ship was evacuating Britons from Tripoli, the defence ministry in London said.
The latest flare-up, which broke out on Saturday, takes the death toll in Tripoli to 124 since July 13, with more than 500 wounded. A medical source said the weekend casualty figures of 22 dead and 72 wounded did not cover hospitals outside Tripoli, in particular in the town of Misrata which has sent fighters to the capital. The transitional government said "several hundred" families had been displaced and there was a "worsening humanitarian situation" in Tripoli, where petrol, bottled gas and food supplies are scarce. On Sunday, the city centre was livelier than in past days despite the renewed fighting around the airport to the south.
However, most shops and banks were shut and the sky was filled with black smoke from a fuel depot ravaged by a fire resulting from the clashes of the past two weeks.
Tripoli airport has been closed and several aircraft destroyed or damaged in the clashes between rival militias which fought together in 2011 to help overthrow dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
The unrest is seen as a struggle for influence, both between regions and political factions, as Libya plunges into chaos, with authorities failing to control the dozens of militias in the absence of a structured regular army and police force. In Tunisia, buses started on Saturday to pick up Egyptian evacuees at the Ras Jedir border crossing to take them to Jerba airport, 100 kilometres (60 miles) north, for flights back to Egypt, AFP journalists said.
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