Forces loyal to Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi are preventing 12,500 refugees from crossing the heavily-armed border between Libya and Tunisia, the UN refugee agency said on Friday.
Fewer than 2,000 people were able to cross the border on Thursday, compared with around 10,000 to 15,000 on previous days, said spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Melissa Fleming.
She said mobile phones and cameras were confiscated from those who did manage to cross.
A total of 12,500 people, including over 10,000 from Bangladesh, still need evacuating, she said.
Up to 2,000 people are believed to have died so far in violent suppression of uprisings in Libya. The UN has accused Gaddafi's regime of systematic violation of human rights and suspended the country from its Human Rights Council.
Over 100,000 people have crossed the Libyan-Tunisian border since February 20, according to the Red Cross.
MOSCOW, March 4 (RIA Novosti)
