By Ashraf Abdul Wahab.
Tripoli, 15 March 2o14:
Hopes that clashes between the Warshefana and Zawia are rising following efforts by local Shura councils . . .[restrict]and elders to negotiate a truce.
Dignitaries from the two areas gathered for Friday prayers yesterday at the Talha bin Zubair mosque in Jidayim forest, in neutral territory between Zawia and Warshefana.
Fighting between the two has left dozens dead and yet more injured over the past year and a half. Warshefana has been a flashpoint for violence since the revolution. It is viewed by its neighbours as having retained its pro-Qaddafi allegiances.
In January it became the scene of over a week of intermittent fighting after a raid by security forces under the control of Tripoli Joint Operations Room spiralled into armed clashes. The neutrality of the raid was brought into question by the presence of, among others form neighbouring areas, forces loyal to Zawia.
A previous peace deal agreed to in principal by leaders of Zawia and Warshefana last August faltered following the kidnapping of 11 Zawia residents. All-out fighting resumed a month later after a Libya Shield unit,brought in to act as a buffer between the two sides, withdrew unexpectedly. [/restrict]
