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Benghazi, April 26:
A young boy was found dead on his family farm in Kufra yesterday, Wednesday. It is not known who . . .[restrict]killed him or whether his death is related to the fresh violence that broke out in the town between Friday and Tuesday.
A ceasefire is said to be holding. However, according to an army source, the number of dead in Kufra is now put at 11. These include two members of the 200-strong Libya Shield Brigade which, under army control, has been trying to keep the peace in Kufra. The two were killed on Friday when Tebu gunmen attacked the army. In addition, the source said that six Libyan Tebus were killed along with three Libyan Arabs. (The source pointedly made a difference between Libyan Tebus and Chadian Tebus, whom he claimed were also in Kufra.)
The three civilians were two men and a young girl. The two men were said to have been cousins who were evacuating their family. It is not known if they were killed by Tebu fire or in crossfire.
The number of those in the Sheild Brigade who were injured in the clashes is put at 30 people. The source did not know how many Tebus had been injured. Libya Herald has tried to contact a Tebu spokesman in the town but his phone has not been working for two days. The last time he was spoken to, he said that 14 of his people had been injured, two seriously, but that they had been airlifted to Tripoli for medical attention.
The Libya Shield Brigade, all of whose members are from Benghazi, is seen as well disciplined unit. It saw service as far away as Sirte during the revolution.
The cause for last weekend’s clashes was said at the time to have been the discovery of a slain Tebu in a Kufra street. Tebus blamed the Libya Shield forces and attacked them. However, the army source says that attack was the result of a split within Tebu ranks. He claimed that at Friday prayers a Tebu imam had called on Tebus to start negotiations with the rest of the Kufra community. Tebus, the imam is reported to have said, were getting tired of the situation, wanted peace and needed their children to be educated. “We must start serious talks,” he was quoted as saying.
According to the source, Tebu leader Isa Abdul Majid did not like this and sent his heavily armed forces to attack brigade members that evening.
The source also said that members of Kufra’s majority Zway tribe who were involved in clashes with the Tebus in February had offered to help attack the Tebus but that the brigade had refused the offer.
An arrest warrant has meanwhile been issued for Abdul Majid who is reported to have fled across the border into Chad. However, Libya Herald has been told by other sources in Kufra that he is in hiding in the town.
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