Militia and tribal clashes continue in Libya
A Libyan police brigade moved to quell clashes that broke out between two rival towns on Monday, brokering a cease-fire and securing the release of hostages, a local tribal chief said,AP reported. just days before the Libyan Prime Minister flew to Sabha where a serious tribal conflict had broken out.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Militia-and-tri...
The intervention by a force of ex-rebels answering to the country's Interior Ministry to stop fighting between two towns near the Tunisian border was an unusually quick response from the weak central government, which has been accused of moving too slowly to stop bloody local conflicts that have broken out in the wake of last year's ouster of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
The battle between Ragdalein and Zwara, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) from the capital Tripoli, was the latest in a series of local rivalries that threatened to divide Libya along tribal and regional lines.
The fighting erupted after fighters from Ragdalein said they took 34 brigade men hostage from the neighboring town of Zwara on Sunday. Ragdalein spokesman Rami Kanaan said the men were returning from the border with Tunisia, where the Zwara brigade helps support newly-trained border guards.
On Sunday, Reuters reported on a visit of flew with the Libyan prime minister Abdurrahim El-Keib to Sabha, about 750 km south (450 miles) of the Libyan capital. He said a ceasefire appeared to be holding between the Tibu ethnic group and the Sabha militias with which they had been clashing.
Smashed windows at a conference centre and burned-out vehicles in a Tibu-controlled neighborhood bore testimony to the fighting over the past days, some of the worst since a revolt last year ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Asked about the situation in Sabha, Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib told Reuters: “It’s much better than I thought.” He said he wanted to show the opposing sides in Sabha that the new Libya had a place for all tribes and ethnic groups.
The Tibu have black skin and some have ties to neighboring Chad, while their opponents are lighter-skinned ethnic Arabs who see the Tibu as outsiders.
“Every Libyan is important to us. We’re going to take care of them like we do take care of any other Libyan, like our brothers and sisters,” Keib told Reuters after addressing about 500 local people from the non-Tibu camp.
The battle between Ragdalein and Zwara, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) from the capital Tripoli, was the latest in a series of local rivalries that threatened to divide Libya along tribal and regional lines.
The fighting erupted after fighters from Ragdalein said they took 34 brigade men hostage from the neighboring town of Zwara on Sunday. Ragdalein spokesman Rami Kanaan said the men were returning from the border with Tunisia, where the Zwara brigade helps support newly-trained border guards.
On Sunday, Reuters reported on a visit of flew with the Libyan prime minister Abdurrahim El-Keib to Sabha, about 750 km south (450 miles) of the Libyan capital. He said a ceasefire appeared to be holding between the Tibu ethnic group and the Sabha militias with which they had been clashing.
Smashed windows at a conference centre and burned-out vehicles in a Tibu-controlled neighborhood bore testimony to the fighting over the past days, some of the worst since a revolt last year ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Asked about the situation in Sabha, Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib told Reuters: “It’s much better than I thought.” He said he wanted to show the opposing sides in Sabha that the new Libya had a place for all tribes and ethnic groups.
The Tibu have black skin and some have ties to neighboring Chad, while their opponents are lighter-skinned ethnic Arabs who see the Tibu as outsiders.
“Every Libyan is important to us. We’re going to take care of them like we do take care of any other Libyan, like our brothers and sisters,” Keib told Reuters after addressing about 500 local people from the non-Tibu camp.
Source : https://www.marocafrik.com/english/Militia-and-tri...