Thousands of Egyptians who have been seeking to flee strife-torn Libya for days were being airlifted home Sunday after Tunisia's initial refusal to let them in sparked clashes at the border.

Buses picked up dozens of them on Saturday afternoon at the Ras Jedir border crossing to take them to Jerba airport, 100 kilometers (60 miles) north, where flights were to evacuate them to Egypt, Agence France-Presse journalists said.

The Philippines on Sunday appealed to thousands of its nationals to flee Libya, warning that the situation there could worsen after only a few hundred heeded calls to return home.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was preparing a ship to ferry Filipino workers from Libyan cities to Malta so they can be flown home after fighting closed down the airport in Tripoli.

Baby on her shoulder, suitcase in hand, Khadija, a 34-year-old Tunisian, is rushing to escape from the "Libyan nightmare" through the Ras Jedir border crossing to reach her homeland.

With the crossing point open only intermittently because of clashes on the Libyan side, Khadija has to wait all night before being allowed through.

The Foreign Ministry assured on Saturday that it is following up on the situation of the Lebanese expats in Libya, where deadly clashes are currently taking place between rival militias.

"We are following up with concern on the situation of the Lebanese community in Libya and we have contacted concerned authorities there and in neighboring countries, especially in Tunisia,” a statement issued by the foreign ministry said.

Libya's new nationalist-dominated parliament held its first meeting Saturday, boycotted by Islamists, in a sign of deep divisions still plaguing a violence-racked country from which thousands are fleeing.

The parliament, elected June 25, is to take over from the interim General National Congress chosen in the wake of the 2011 NATO-backed revolution that ousted longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

The Philippines urged its thousands of workers in Libya on Saturday to leave the strife-torn nation now while they still can, warning that the remaining exit routes were closing fast.

Tunisia on Friday urged its estimated 50,000 to 60,000 nationals in neighboring Libya to leave "as soon as possible" because of violence that has raged there since mid-July.

"The ministry of foreign affairs urges Tunisians who find themselves in Libyan territory to return home as soon as possible," a ministry statement said.

A Philippine plan to evacuate all 13,000 of its workers in strife-torn Libya is a "challenge", with many reluctant to leave despite the dangers, the Filipino foreign ministry said Friday.

The ministry announced a "mandatory" evacuation of all 13,000 of its nationals living in Libya last month after the beheading of a Filipino construction worker abducted by unknown suspects.

Libya has warned of a "total collapse" of its health care system as the chaos plaguing the country threatens to send into flight many of the Filipino and Indian staff on whom its hospitals depend.

Fighting between rival militias in Tripoli over the past three weeks and bloody clashes between Islamists and army special forces in the eastern city of Benghazi have prompted several countries to evacuate their nationals and diplomatic staff.

European nations must stay in Libya if they are serious about tackling major global issues, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Thursday, as renewed fighting triggered mass evacuations of foreigners.

"Staying in Libya signifies trying to have a role in several of the most important geopolitical questions of the coming years: peace, security and immigration," Renzi told members of his Democratic Party.