Hoda Abdel Hamid reports from the city of Tobruk, around 140km west of the border with Egypt.
Egyptians on the road fleeing Libya told her that there had been fighting in towns along the way, and the situation remains chaotic. One man told her there had been a "bloodbath". Mercenaries, some French-speaking and allegedly from Chad, roam during the night.
Police have fled or are in hiding, citizens told Hamid, and they control the east up to the city of Benghazi.
