Following reports that Kadhafi`s forces were stopping more people fleeing, Valerie Amos, the UN emergency coordinator, said UN agencies were studying satellite imagery to see if more people were massing on the border.
"As of yesterday over 172,000 people have left Libya, mainly migrant workers returning to their homes," Amos told reporters. She said most in the exodus were men.
"Our concern now is that the numbers leaving Libya dropped sharply yesterday. UNHCR has reported that the border on the Libyan side is now manned by heavily armed pro-government forces," she said.
"We hope that movement of people can continue."
She said that a "bottleneck" built up at the Tunisian border this week when 30,000 people tried to cross in two days. The United Nations has set up a transit camp on the Tunisian side. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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