The predicament on Libya's border with Tunisia has reached crisis stage, as tens of thousands of foreigners flee unrest inside the nation, the UN says.
Help staff appear unable to cope with all the influx, say correspondents. Some 140,000 have gone to Tunisia and Egypt.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has told Western journalists he's loved by his folks and denied protests in Tripoli.
His interview arrived amid reports that he's attempting to regain control of rebel areas in western Libya.
Col Gaddafi is going through a enormous problem to his 41-year rule, with protesters in control of towns inside the east.
Witnesses mentioned pro-Gaddafi forces attempted to retake the western cities of Zawiya, Misrata and Nalut on Monday but have been repulsed by rebels aided by defecting army models.
The rebels mentioned they had killed 8 pro-Gaddafi militia, but there have been no opposition fatalities. There has been no word through the federal government on casualties.
You will find fears in Zawiya the metropolis may be attacked through the air, but the rebels remained defiant.
"We're not
here for power, authority or funds," they mentioned in a message aimed at Col Gaddafi.
"We are here for the lead to of independence and the price tag we are willing to pay out is with our own blood... It is victory or demise."
In other developments:
* The Red Cross is requesting use of western Libya, amid unconfirmed reports of attacks on physicians and summary killings of patients
* Austria freezes assets of the Libyan leadership worth one.2bn euros ($1.65bn; £1.02bn) as Germany freezes the financial institution account of a single of Col Gaddafi's sons
* Libyan air force planes reportedly attacked ammunition depots inside the eastern towns of Ajdabiya and Rajma
* About 400 protesters gathered inside the Tripoli suburb of Tajoura on Monday - Gaddafi supporters attempted to disperse them by firing inside the air
* Reports say there have already been lengthy queues in Tripoli banking institutions as folks attempted to gather the 500 dinars (£250; $410) promised by the federal government in an attempt to quell the unrest
'Forgotten'
A spokeswoman for the UN Substantial Commissioner for Refugees, Melissa Fleming, mentioned 70,000-75,000 folks have fled to Tunisia since violence started in Libya on 20 February. A related amount have gone to Egypt, exactly where most have already been able to carry on their journeys onward.
"Our staff about the Libya-Tunisia border have told us this early morning the predicament there is certainly reaching crisis stage," she mentioned, quoted by AFP information agency.
About two,000 folks are crossing into Tunisia each hour but once in Tunisia a lot of of them have nowhere to go. One more 20,000 are mentioned to become backed up about the Libyan facet.
Most are Egyptian, but you'll find also important numbers of Chinese and Bangladeshis.
The Egyptians are angry, complaining that they've been forgotten by their federal government, says the BBC's Jim Muir about the border.
Temperatures plummeted overnight and our correspondent found the body of a youthful Egyptian man who had apparently died of cold.
Tuesday 1 March 2011
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