Libya has told Egyptians they will need visas to enter the country, Egypt's state news agency said on Wednesday, after Egypt imposed travel restrictions on Libyans during the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.

Egypt toughened its entry requirements after the rebellion broke out in eastern Libya in February and some Libyans tried to cross the border to escape Gaddafi's feared militias.

It has kept the visa rule since the Libyan conflict ended with his death on October 21.

Libyans and Egyptians could come and go relatively freely before popular uprisings in both countries this year.

That arrangement made it easier for millions of Egyptians to work in the oil-rich desert country, which has less than one tenth of Egypt's population.

The new regulation falls within the framework of mutual tightening of procedures between Egypt and Libya for the entry of citizens of both countries, official news agency MENA cited an airports official in Egypt as saying.

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