GENEVA - People in Egypt and Tunisia are driving to the border to help those arriving from Libya, with many hosting strangers in their homes, international aid groups said on Friday. More than 30,000 people have streamed across land borders in response to violence in Libya, mainly Egyptians and Tunisians who had been working in the North African country, according to the International Organisation for Migration. "We are seeing unprecedented support being offered by local people," said Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva. She said people were putting people up in their homes, in schools, hotels and youth centres. Most people were spending at least a night in border areas before continuing to their home cities and villages. Others, from elsewhere in Africa and the Middle East, as well as Libya itself, were needing longer-term assistance. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued an appeal for 6 million Swiss francs ($6.5 million) to provide medical care and emergency aid to people uprooted by Libya's bloody crackdown and said it was likely needs would increase. "The humanitarian situation inside Libya is worsening by the hour," said Dominik Stillhart, the ICRC's deputy director of operations. "We're very concerned about the growing number of people who are leaving their homes in search of safety and trying to cross the border." Many desperate people have been unable to leave Libya so far, meaning there could be a surge of people arriving across the borders that could overwhelm host communities, Fleming said. "We are concerned that Libyans deeper inside the country and in the capital, Tripoli, are being prevented from fleeing," she said, noting many foreigners in Libya are staying in their homes despite running out of food because they fear being attacked.
