CAIRO - EgyptAir flew 27 flights to Libya and Tunisia to evacuate 8,000 Egyptians in both countries, after they had fled the melee in Libya in light of the violent crackdown by the regime there against opposition protests. The Libyan authorities had permitted 11 EgyptAir flights from the capital Tripoli to bring back home expat Egyptians. Egypt's national carrier also flew 16 flights to Tunisia to evacuate thousands of Egyptians who had crossed the border from Libya, according to the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Mohamed Abdel-Hakam yesterday said that the company was coordinating with the ministry to obtain permissions for evacuating Egyptians suspended in Libya. He added that the air bridge would continue to bring all Egyptians willing to come home from Libya. More than 38,000 were reported to have crossed the border home from Libya where forces are launching bloody crackdown against opposition protesters seeking to overthrow President Muammar Gaddafi, in power for more than four decades. The Egyptian community in Libya is estimated at 1.5 million. The Egyptian Armed Forces, currently in charge of the country's affairs after ex-President Hosni Mubarak resigned on February 11 had set up a makeshift shelter near the borders offering “all forms of assistance and facilities” to fleers. Abdel-Hakam said that two ferries, Riadh and al-Qahera, now in the Red Sea, were due in Tunisia on Thursday to carry back home Egyptians stranded there. The Armed Forces will dispatch other two ferries for the same reason. According to the Foreign Ministry's official, other 1,000 Egyptian crossed the border into Algeria, where they were welcomed and well-served. Plans are underway to bring them to their country soon, he added. Meanwhile, many Egyptians who arrived home safe from Tripoli, said that almost all of them left their luggage in Libya after the authorities there allowed each only one bag on departure. They were also reported to have been forced to pay “protection money”, 300 Libyan dinars ($ 243), to the Libyan police to allow them to leave.
