By Ahmed Elumami.
Tripoli, 25 August 2103:
The Chief of Staff has insisted that those involved in the killings that triggered Friday’s deadly . . .[restrict]clashes between Zawia and the Warshefana had to be handed over to the authorities as soon as possible, Chief of Staff spokesman Colonel Ali Sheikhi told the Libya Herald. Otherwise Congress would be forced to send in troops to seize them and others in areas which are still a refuge for wanted people.
“These bloody acts block Libya’s progress and the Chief of Staff (Brigadier-General Abdulsalam Al-Obaidi) demands the two sides to show restraint to stop bloodshed,” Sheikhi said.
Condemning the clashes and expressing regret for the victims who died as a result, the presidency of the General Staff had said that the two sides had to show restraint in future and to give greater priority to the interests of Libya than to than to their “narrow self-interest”.
Sheikhi added that troops from the military police and Brigade No. 10 Special Forces had been ordered to separate the two side and secure roads in the area. They would take their positions as soon as the fighting fully stopped.
There is a long history of rivalry between Zawia and the Warshefana but it was exacerbated during the revolution when Zawia rose up against Qaddafi while the Warshefana were generally seen as supporting him. [/restrict]
