CAIRO: Egypt renewed a visa waiver for Libyans on Tuesday, airport security sources said, two days after it started requiring visas from citizens of its western neighbor without offering any explanation. "Orders have arrived to waive visas for Libyans," one source said, without elaborating. Egypt imposed the visa requirement on Sunday, sending many Libyans trying to flee the conflict in their homeland into a panic. "All Libyans wishing to enter Egypt must first obtain a visa from any Egyptian embassy," the foreign ministry said at the time. Officials at air, land and sea ports began implementing the directive immediately. Protests that broke out in Libya on Feb. 15 have escalated into a protracted armed conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and driven many more to flee into neighboring Egypt and Tunisia. Mohamed Abdel-Hakam, Egypt's ambassador to Libya, described the move to waive visas as a humanitarian gesture, taking into account the difficulties Libyans are having getting to embassies or consulates as unrest engulfs Libya, which is Egypt's western neighbor. Abdel-Hakam said Tuesday that more than 100,000 Libyans have entered Egypt since February. The International Organization of Migration said altogether, 260,000 people have fled from Libya into Egypt, including foreign workers.
