As Libya deteriorates, Egyptians are desperate to get out

[LuckyTheDog]

It’s easy to spot Egyptians returning from Libya at the Cairo airport. They come through the doors of the arrival hall almost at a run, one carrying a plastic bag, another a small backpack, eyes down, not scanning the crowd for a familiar face. Most are from Upper Egypt or the Delta region and their families are a long way from the capital. Some arrive in groups from the same village or town in Egypt, and many wear the long brown or gray cotton robe commonly worn in rural areas, dusty after days spent on the Libya-Tunisia border.

Libya’s two largest cities, Tripoli and Benghazi, have seen heavy fighting among rival militias in the last few weeks, and daily life has “stopped,” according to an official at the Libyan embassy in Cairo who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Over the last 11 days the Egyptian government has sent 47 planes to the Tunisian border with Libya, sometimes up to seven flights per day, to bring back thousands of Egyptian workers stranded there fleeing the fighting near the Libyan capital. 11,500 Egyptians have been airlifted back to Cairo from Libya’s western border and thousands more have crossed over land near Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi.

MORE HERE: http://wonkynewsnerd.com/libya-deteriorates-egyptians-desperate-get/