LIBYA - Sept. 29 - Unrest Over Immigration.

Reports say disturbances involving Libyans and nationals from several African countries have continued. The reports say dozens of people have died, but no exact figures are available. (Since Colonel Qadhafi introduced his pan-African policy, growing numbers of immigrants from other African countries have moved to Libya.) Diplomats say the African immigrants, now thought to number about a million, have become the focus of social and economic resentment.) Earlier in the week, hundreds of frightened Nigerians protested outside their embassy in Tripoli, but many Africans are now reported to be trying to keep a low profile. On Sept. 26, Sudanese Pres. Bashir called on Qadhafi to contain the situation. Libyan officials play down the scale of the confrontations, but it is clear they have been extremely serious. A diplomat in the capital, Tripoli, says there had been several violent clashes, with some Libyans among the dead and injured. (A trivial dispute had sparked one of the most serious reported confrontations involving Chadians and Sudanese in the town of Zawiyah west of Tripoli. There have also been clashes in Tripoli.) Security is now tightened and diplomats say some African immigrants have been moved to military camps, possibly for their own protection. One diplomat describes this latest violence as unprecedented evidence of opposition to an official Libyan policy.