- The Red Cross is helping people reunite with their families
- There is virtually no communication between eastern and western Libya
- The agency chartered a ship to ferry people between Tripoli and Benghazi
- Libyan officers tell the Tunisian news agency that 15,000 people have been killed
Benghazi, Libya (CNN) -- Their war-torn land divided in two, a few Libyans boarded a ship Friday with hopes of reuniting with loved ones, separated by many miles and treacherous front lines.
The only safe route between east and west was by sea and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) chartered ships to ferry people cut off from their families since war erupted four months ago.
Women carried luggage and diaper bags and held the hands of their children as they walked onto the Ionis, a ship that carried 300 people from the port Tripoli, the capital, to Benghazi, the de facto capital of the Libyan opposition. The Ionis is scheduled to return to Tripoli later Friday carrying people from Benghazi.
Meanwhile, 19 Libyan army officers were among 49 refugees who fled to Tunisia, the Tunisian Afrique Presse (TAP) news agency reported Friday. They arrived Thursday at the port in El Ktef, along the Libyan border, the latest in a stream of people who have made arduous journeys to flee the bloodshed.
Another 38 Libyans, including senior officials, arrived at the same port Wednesday, TAP said. They told TAP that 15,000 people had been killed in the Libyan conflict and that another 30,000 people had been taken prisoner.
The ICRC said it hopes to carry as many as 700 people out of Tripoli, still under the control of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and under fire almost daily from NATO airstrikes. The agency said it has received 950 requests from people desperate to get out.
Protesting for, against Gadhafi in LibyaOrganizing such transport was not easy. The ICRC negotiated with the Libyan government and the opposition Transitional National Council for two months.
"Most of the people we are transferring are Libyans who were working away from their home towns or visiting relatives or friends when the conflict broke out," said Paul Castella, head of the ICRC delegation in Tripoli. "They are very eager to rejoin their families."
Communications between east and west have been tough. Phone calls are impossible. Postal services disrupted, and Internet connections, erratic, Castella said.
"It has become extremely difficult for family members to keep in touch," he said.
The ICRC has been helping Libyans reconnect with their families. It said it has organized more than 13,600 satellite phone calls and delivered more than 640 "safe and well" messages, both within Libya and to other countries.
CNN's Ingrid Formanek contributed to this report.
Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_world/~3/umRFuSDKyFo/index.html
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