The State Department says Libyan officials have told U.S. diplomats that journalists who have entered Libya illegally to cover the violent unrest there will be treated like al-Qaida collaborators.

A department statement advises news organizations that Libyan officials said they would not be responsible for the safety of journalists without proper approval to be in the country and that journalists would be prosecuted for violations of immigration laws.

The warning comes as the Libyan government appears to have lost control of much of the eastern part of the nation, where some reporters are crossing the border from Egypt.