Refugees clogging Libya's borders

Libya is at the centre of a refugee crisis with tens of thousands having already fled and the exodus growing daily.

More than 140,000 people have now crossed into Egypt and Tunisia, refugee officials said.

A UN refugee agency spokeswoman said the situation was “reaching crisis point” at the Libya-Tunisia border.

The situation was made more volatile, other aid officials said, with humanitarian aid workers blocked from reaching western Libya and patients reportedly being executed in hospitals and others struck by hidden gunmen riding in ambulances.

Fleeing migrant workers were also being targeted by rebels, mistaking them for mercenaries being used by the government in its attempt to quash the rebellion.

Meanwhile anti government fighters and troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi clashed in three cities.

Zawiya, the rebel stronghold 30 miles from Libya’s capital, celebrated with a victory march after repelling an overnight attack by Gaddafi’s forces.

The dictator’s troops also were stopped as they tried to retake two other opposition-held cities: Misrata, Libya’s third-largest city 125 miles east of Tripoli, and Zintan, 75 miles south of the capital.

The rebels have been fighting to consolidate their gains as the international community weighed new moves to isolate Gaddafi, including the possibility of creating a no-fly zone over the country.

International pressure to end the crackdown has escalated dramatically in the past few days.