Meeting of national tribal leaders marred by squabble

By Jamal Adel.

Tripoli, 7 February 2014:

A meeting at a Tripoli hotel of elders and tribal leaders from across the . . .[restrict]country descended into chaos yesterday when remarks by one of them provoked a backlash forcing the delegates to quit for an early lunch.

While the members had gathered in Tripoli to discuss the possibility of a more prominent national role, the meeting was disrupted by raucous heckling when a delegate from the Al-Awageer tribe, the largest tribe in Benghazi, accused his colleagues of various inadequacies.

The attack elicited a strong sense of dissatisfaction among most members and tempers flared to the point that lunch had to be called early. By the time talks resumed at 4:00 it was too late to make any formal decisions.

Beforehand, the head of Tripoli Local Council, Sadat Elbadri, had made opening statements greeting delegates,  followed by an announcement of the the meeting’s support for the army and police.

The delegate for the south, Abdisslam Ali Khalifa also expressed, at length and without reserve, his gratitude to Zintani and Misratan revolutionaries for restoring peace to Sebha after recent tribal violence. [/restrict]