Libyan authorities are trying to round up 1,200 inmates who spilled out of a Benghazi prison . The prisoners escaped the al-Kwyfah facility in Benghazi early Friday , but only 18 have been captured , city security spokesman Mohammed Hujazi told Libya News TV on Saturday . A few others have surrendered , Hujazi said . Residents living next to the prison stormed the facility because they did n't want a prison in their neighborhood , said Ali Zaidan , prime minister of Libya 's transitional government . Authorities rushed to the scene , but were instructed `` not to draw arms against citizens , '' Zaidan said . So the al-Kwyfah residents were able to open the floodgates for the prisoners . Zaidan said the country 's border posts have lists of the escaped prisoners . He also ordered the closure of Libya 's border with Egypt , to the east . `` Nobody will be allowed to cross , but we will allow the goods only to enter in the month of Ramadan , '' Zaidan said . Hujazi , the city 's security spokesman , said the security apparatus in Benghazi `` suffers from the lack of manpower and equipment . ''
Of the 1,200 who escaped , 18 have been captured and a few have surrendered . The rest are still at large in Syria or Iraq. Residents stormed the prison because they did n't want it in their area . Authorities could n't draw their arms on the residents , allowing them to help the prisoners . City official : Benghazi 's security apparatus `` suffers from the lack of manpower and equipment ''