Libya unrest sparks refugee crisis at Tunisia border

[Turborama]

Source: BBC

Libya's border with Tunisia is being overrun with migrants, many of them from Egypt, fleeing turmoil in Libya, aid workers say.

February 27 2011 Last updated at 19:36 GMT

A UN refugee official told the BBC that 20,000 Egyptians were stranded and needed food and shelter. Many are sleeping in the open despite the cold.

Some Egyptian refugees staged protests shouting: "We want to go home."

About 100,000 people have fled anti-government unrest in Libya over the past week, the UN estimates.

The BBC's Jim Muir at the Ras Jdir border crossing with Tunisia says the exodus of Egyptian workers from western Libya began on Wednesday, but has been intensifying daily since then.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12591935

[msongs]

1. now that Egypt is a military dictatorship instead of a cult of personality they can't go back there