Tripoli/Benghazi, Libya:
Amateur video filmed Wednesday by a European passenger showed chaotic scenes at the Tripoli airport as a large number of people tried to escape the turmoil in Libya as the unrest continues.
Inside the terminal too, similar sights could be seen, with serpentine queues at check-in counter desks and clueless people yelling with frustration.
However, 650 kilometers away from Tripoli, in the opposition controlled city of Benghazi, there is an eerie calm.
Doctors at a hospital on Thursday were treating patients injured during protests against the Libyan leader.
Doctors said that most of the patients were suffering from gunshot wounds.
"I can't manage (to say) how many dead exactly, more than 300 in Benghazi, and injured more than 3, 000," said Dr Hisham Mustafa Abou Dabous at Al Gala hospital.
Mortuary workers at the hospital tried to identify burned bodies killed during the demonstrations.
They said that some of the bodies were those of suspected African mercenaries.
Gaddafi's use of force has so far helped him maintain control of Tripoli, a city that holds about a third of Libya's 6 million population.
Pro-Gaddafi forces have fought back fiercely as the longtime leader has seen his control whittled away, with Zawiya and other major Libyan cities and towns closer to the capital falling to the rebellion against his rule.
Moammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam claimed on Thursday that the reported death tolls have been exaggerated, although he didn't provide his own figure.