Fleeing chaos on Libya's eastern frontier

SALUM, Egypt — Thousands of Egyptians fleeing unrest in Libya continued to pour across the border near this sleepy Mediterranean village on Wednesday, one day after Libya’s defiant leader, Muammar Gaddafi, threatened to escalate violence against anti-government forces challenging his four decades of authoritarian rule.

Gaddafi, in a lengthy televised speech on state television Tuesday night, urged Libyan citizens to join in on the battle to quell a weeklong revolt in his North African nation.

But on Wednesday Gaddafi's control of Libya shrank as major cities and towns close to the capital, such as Misurata, Sabratha and Zawiya, fell to the rebellion against his rule. Eastern Libya remained controlled by anti-government forces and the opposition vowed to "liberate" Tripoli, where the Libyan leader is holed up with a force of militiamen roaming the streets and tanks guarding the capital. Tripoli remained gripped by instability with all business closed and reports of Gaddafi militia shooting people on the streets.

In a further sign of Gaddafi's faltering hold, two air force pilots — one from the leader's own tribe — parachuted out of their jet fighter and let it crash into the eastern Libyan desert rather than follow orders to bomb oil fields near Benghazi, Libya's second largest city that is held by the opposition.

Some estimate that over 1,000 Libyans have been killed since demonstrations began on Feb. 17 — some reportedly in skirmishes with government-sanctioned mercenary squads.

Egyptians returning home on Wednesday described their fears of the growing "chaos" and lawlessness flaring up on Libya’s eastern frontier — despite reports that pro-government forces had largely retreated from there.

“Everybody has a gun now, even little children. You don’t know who to trust anymore — the army, police and citizens are all wearing the same clothes,” said Ahmed Moustafa, an Egyptian returnee. “I’m just happy to be home on safe ground again.”

Egyptians coming across from Libya said only a few pockets of pro-Gaddafi resistance remained in cities from the border to Benghazi — Libya’s second largest city and epicenter of the recent unrest.

The instability in Libya’s eastern region, said Egyptians coming across the border, came after the withdrawal of the nation’s police forces.

Ahmed Farag, an Egyptian who used to work at Libya’s now-unmanned border crossing, said that the terminal had been ransacked, torched and all the weapons inside stolen earlier this week.

“A nearby army base was also raided. At least one tank was taken by the people,” said Farag.

Many Egyptians also said that bands of “militias” were roaming the streets at night, armed with knives and guns. One witness described a rocket-propelled grenade launcher in the hands of Libyan citizens.

“Of course I was afraid. The highways are now controlled by normal people and thieves,” said Ahmed, 24, an Egyptian baker who worked in Benghazi. “We were hearing gunfire outside our apartment all day long.”

A security official working at the Salum border terminal said that more than 20,000 Egyptians and at least 100 foreigners had come through the crossing this week.

But with increasing violence in neighboring Libya, authorities were bracing for as many as 1 million Egyptians to repatriate within the coming days and weeks.

The normally desolate border crossing, located on a windswept desert plateau just above the village of Salum, was teeming with Egyptian migrant workers and families returning home on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Most were carrying all their possessions, vowing never to return to Libya.

Families dragged dozens of suitcases, metal trunks, and old appliances as they walked the mile-long stretch of no-man’s-land between the border terminals of Egypt and Libya.

Buses and microbuses, completely packed and weighed down by luggage tied to roofs in stacks as high as the vehicles themselves, created a rare bottleneck on the two-lane highway leading out from this otherwise desolate plain.

“This is definitely the first time I’ve seen a crowd this big here,” said Hany Abou el Emany, a driver eager to fill his microbus for the long journey back to Mansoura in Egypt’s Nile Delta.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/libya/110223/egypt-border-gaddafi