Time to leave

TRIBAL forces have established control across Eastern Libya since the police forces abandoned their posts a week ago, according to migrant workers fleeing the country via Egypt in their thousands. A last ditch attempt by mercenaries flown in from Chad, Zimbabwe, and Guinea and gunmen firing from helicopters to re-establish Muammar Qaddhafi's hold left a bloody trail, but no change to the tribal takeover. The scale of the violence contrasts markedly with North Africa's largely peaceful uprisings.

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