BBC News with Iain Purdon
As thousands of refugees continue to pour across the Libyan border into Tunisia to escape the turmoil now
engulf
ing the administration of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, aid officials are warning of a growing humanitarian emergency. A UN refugee official, Liz Eyster, said that 50,000 had crossed from Libya, nearly half of them Egyptians, and the immediate aim was to find
adequate
food and shelter for them.
"Getting them out is a major logistics exercise.
The point is to keep people moving and not to have them camped out in Tunisia for too long.
Fortunately there's also openings on the other side of the border, the Egyptian side of the border. A major relief effort has been organised over there as well. So I don't think Tunisia needs to get ready for 1.5 million, but I think they need to get ready for a significant number, and we are here to help."
Meanwhile a BBC correspondent has visited the Libyan town of Zawiyah, where there have been clashes between Libyan government forces and the opposition in recent days. He found the town centre, 50km west of the capital Tripoli, firmly in the hands of the rebels, but surrounded by forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi. Our correspondent said the rebels had one tank, anti-aircraft guns, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms, but they were potentially facing vastly superior firepower.
The British government has frozen all the assets held in the country by the Libyan leader and his immediate family. The decision is