At least 26 nations have begun efforts to get their citizens out of Libya to safety.

A military Hercules aircraft was en route to Tripoli on Thursday to collect British citizens, and Turkey says it's mounted the biggest evacuation effort in its history.

An Algerian who landed safely in his home country, told Al Jazeera that it took him four days to get to the airport in Tripoli, the capital of Libya.

Al Jazeera's James Bays speaks to Imran Garda after returning from Tripoli, where he heard first-hand accounts of people caught up in the violence.