Libya tightens security

More than one million Chadians and Sudanese live in Libya

The Libyan General People's Congress has instituted new security measures across the country.

Correspondents say they are believed to be in response to clashes reported to have taken place between Libyans and African expatriates in the town of Zawiya, west of Tripoli.

The Sudanese independent daily newspaper Akhbar al-Yom reported 50 people were killed in clashes between Libyans and nationals of Sudan and Chad.

In a statement the Congress said it had ordered the authorities to stem the hiring of foreigners by the private sector.

Immigrants from neighbouring Arab and African countries have been lured to oil and gas-rich Libya in search of work.

Earlier Sudan asked Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to intervene to try to contain the situation.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail had made telephone calls to a number of Libyan officials.

'Tremendous efforts'

The statement said the ministry had no information about deaths among the Sudanese community but had been told of injuries sustained by Sudanese nationals.

It said the Sudanese embassy in Tripoli had been exerting "tremendous efforts" over the past few days to find out the condition of Sudanese nationals.

Speaking earlier in Jordan, Libya's African Unity Minister, Ali Abdel Salam Triki, dismissed reports of the clashes as baseless.

But he told the French news agency there had been fights recently between Nigerians and Libyans over moral issues, particularly concerning young women.

On Tuesday, Libyan newspaper `Al-Zahf al-Akhdar' acknowledged "wrangles" between Libyans and nationals from other African countries, saying the protagonists were aiming to disrupt progress towards greater African unity.