Libya exodus reaching 'crisis point': UN

Tens of thousands of peopleare fleeingLibyaas clashes continue between longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi and anti-government rebels, but aid workers say their ability to feed and shelter them along border nationsis being pushed to the breaking point.

Aid workers at the Libya-Tunisia border warnedTuesday that "the situation is reaching crisis point," UN refugee agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said.

Authorities say up to 75,000 people have fled Libya in the last nine days.

On Monday, 14,000 fled to Tunisia and the refugee agency expected another 15,000 to leave on Tuesday, Fleming said.

Another 69,000 people have headed into Egypt from Libya in the past 10 days. Most are Egyptians who have already been taken to other towns and cities, Egyptian authorities said.

Thousands of Vietnamese and Bangladeshison the Libyan side of the border with Tunisia are "in urgent need of food, water and shelter," said Jemini Pandya, a spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration.

Nepalese, Ghanaians and Nigerians were also sleeping unprotected at the borders, she said.

Military reasserts itself at border crossing

CBC's Adrienne Arsenault, reporting from a Tunisian border crossing with Libya called Dehiba, said pro-Gadhafi forces have re-established themselves there after temporarily abandoning their posts.

Arsenault said Libyan guards would turn a blind eye over the last few days, but as of Tuesday morning, there were green Libyan banners hanging at the border and a clear military presence.

"There are soldiers wandering around," she said. "The Tunisian soldiers on this side are quite apprehensive."

The Libyan soldiers are agitated and holding people back, Arsenault said.

"The impression generally is that this is an effort on the part of the pro-Gadhafi forces to try to regain some control of this area, which residents had thought was still in control of the opposition forces," she said.

People who have been let through include Thai and Vietnamese workers.

"One young Thai man just told us they thought they were heading for an airport and a truck pulled up with a number of tents," she said. "I don't think that is a good sign. It looks like they're going to be here for a little while."

The volume is much lower than at the border crossing of Ras Jdir farther north, she said, where thousands of migrant workers, mostly Egyptians, are trying to get out of the country after their companies closed shop.

"This is much calmer," she said. "The volume is much lower. There aren't as many people, and it seems that the companies and certainly the Thai government are coming to help these people. They won't be abandoned but they may just have to wait."

Rebels fend off government attack

Earlier Tuesday, government opponents in rebel-held Zawiya repelled an attempt by forces loyal toGadhafi to retake the city closest to the capital in six hours of fighting overnight, witnesses said Tuesday.

The rebels, who include mutinous army members, are armed with tanks, machine-guns and anti-aircraft guns. They fought back pro-Gadhafi troops, armed with the same weapons, who attacked from six directions. There was no word on casualties in Zawiya, roughly 50 kilometres west of Tripoli.

A similar attempt was made by pro-Gadhafi forces Monday night to retake the opposition-held cities of Misrata, Libya's third-largest city, located some 200 kilometres east of Tripoli and Zintan, 120 kilometres south of the capital. Rebel forces there repelled the attackers.

"We will not give up Zawiya at any price," said one witness. "We know it is significant strategically. They will fight to get it, but we will not give up. We managed to defeat them because our spirits are high and their spirits are zero."

Gadhafi, Libya's ruler for more than 40 years, has already lost control of the eastern half of the country. He still holdsTripoli and nearby cities.

Troops loyal tohim clamped down onthe strategic mountain town of Gharyan in the Nafusa mountain range overlooking Tripoli on Tuesday and had set up checkpoints along the road connecting it and Zintan, a resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Witnesses in Zawiya said youths from the city were stationed on the rooftops of high-rise buildings in the city to monitor the movements of the pro-Gadhafi forces and sound the warning if they thought an attack was imminent. They also spoke about generous offers of cash by the regime for the rebels to hand control of the city back to authorities.

On Tuesday, Gadhafi's regime sought to show that it was the country's only legitimate authority and that it continued to feel compassion for areas in the east that fell under the control of its opponents.

Eighteen trucks loaded with rice, wheat flour, sugar and eggs left Tripoli for Benghazi, the country's second-largest city, located roughly 1,000 kilometres east ofTripoli. Also in the convoy were two refrigerated cars carrying medical supplies.

The convoy was met with a small pro-Gadhafi demonstration as it made its way out of Tripoli. "God, Gadhafi, Libya and that's it," chanted the demonstrators.

International aid flows in

International aid began to flow into the country Tuesday.

Franceflew inmedicalaid to the opposition-controlled eastern half of the country, while the UN World Food Program plane arrived with 80 tonnes of high-energy biscuits.

The UN Refugee Agency said it is worried about the situation in Tripoli, which is short on food, water, fuel and medical supplies.