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Egyptians say killing, banditry unleashed in Libya
Piled onto tractors and trucks, hundreds of Egyptians streamed over the border from Libya on Tuesday, describing a wave of killing and banditry unleashed by the revolt against leader Muammar Gaddafi.
A witness who had fled the city of Benghazi said at least 2,000 people had been killed there -- a figure that could not be independently corroborated but which indicated the scale of destruction people believed was wrought by a week of violence.
Human Rights Watch says at least 233 people have been killed across Libya so far.
Egyptians described a treacherous journey out of Libya in which they were shot at by armed bandits taking advantage of the chaos.
Hassan Kamel Mohamed, a 24-year-old steel worker who had fled from Tobruk, said: "There were thugs everywhere and they would pull weapons on you at any time."
"We were trying to sleep at night but we couldn't. Thugs would fire in the air every fifteen minutes. They took our money, they took everything."
Mohamed Bayoumy, 37, said he had been travelling for three days in the western part of the country and that there were armed groups along the road, demanding bribes. Another man, who declined to be named, said: "The situation is bad for Egyptians right now."
"They took money from us and shot at us," he said, declining to give his name.
"EXTREMELY DANGEROUS"
"Five people died on the street where I live," Mohamed Jalaly, 40, told Reuters at Salum on his way to Cairo from Benghazi. "You leave Benghazi and then you have ... nothing but gangs and youths with weapons," he added. "The way from Benghazi is extremely dangerous," he said.
At the Salum crossing on the Egyptian side of the border with Libya, the Egyptian army had set up dozens of tents to serve as a field hospital to receive those fleeing the turmoil, though they were mostly empty on Tuesday morning.
Jalaly corroborated reports that security forces in Libya used heavy weaponry against anti-Gaddafi protesters in Benghazi, attacking them with military aircraft and heavy machine guns.
Two Libyan Air Force fighter pilots defected on Monday, flying their planes to Malta where they told authorities they had been ordered to bomb protesters, Maltese authorities said.
There are up to 1.5 million Egyptians living in Libya, Egypt's foreign minister said. Cairo got permission to send two military aircraft to evacuate some of them on Tuesday.
Egyptians say killing, banditry unleashed in Libya | News by Country | Reuters
Piled onto tractors and trucks, hundreds of Egyptians streamed over the border from Libya on Tuesday, describing a wave of killing and banditry unleashed by the revolt against leader Muammar Gaddafi.
A witness who had fled the city of Benghazi said at least 2,000 people had been killed there -- a figure that could not be independently corroborated but which indicated the scale of destruction people believed was wrought by a week of violence.
Human Rights Watch says at least 233 people have been killed across Libya so far.
Egyptians described a treacherous journey out of Libya in which they were shot at by armed bandits taking advantage of the chaos.
Hassan Kamel Mohamed, a 24-year-old steel worker who had fled from Tobruk, said: "There were thugs everywhere and they would pull weapons on you at any time."
"We were trying to sleep at night but we couldn't. Thugs would fire in the air every fifteen minutes. They took our money, they took everything."
Mohamed Bayoumy, 37, said he had been travelling for three days in the western part of the country and that there were armed groups along the road, demanding bribes. Another man, who declined to be named, said: "The situation is bad for Egyptians right now."
"They took money from us and shot at us," he said, declining to give his name.
"EXTREMELY DANGEROUS"
"Five people died on the street where I live," Mohamed Jalaly, 40, told Reuters at Salum on his way to Cairo from Benghazi. "You leave Benghazi and then you have ... nothing but gangs and youths with weapons," he added. "The way from Benghazi is extremely dangerous," he said.
At the Salum crossing on the Egyptian side of the border with Libya, the Egyptian army had set up dozens of tents to serve as a field hospital to receive those fleeing the turmoil, though they were mostly empty on Tuesday morning.
Jalaly corroborated reports that security forces in Libya used heavy weaponry against anti-Gaddafi protesters in Benghazi, attacking them with military aircraft and heavy machine guns.
Two Libyan Air Force fighter pilots defected on Monday, flying their planes to Malta where they told authorities they had been ordered to bomb protesters, Maltese authorities said.
There are up to 1.5 million Egyptians living in Libya, Egypt's foreign minister said. Cairo got permission to send two military aircraft to evacuate some of them on Tuesday.
Egyptians say killing, banditry unleashed in Libya | News by Country | Reuters