By Libya Herald reporter.
Benghazi. 31 July 2015:
Communal clashes in the southeastern oasis of Kufra have now continued for just over a . . .[restrict]week, with the government and the Libyan National Army (LNA) still unable to control the conflict.
Tebu-Zwai tit-for-tat killings over the last month once again exploded into bloody armed clashes between the two tribes on Friday last week. In the past couple of days, some 15 people are said to have been killed.
Despite the Tebu’s allegiance to the Beida government and with the General Khalifa Hafter, the National Tebu Assembly (NTA) is now openly resentful of their attitudes to events in the town. The chairman of the National Tebu Assembly (NTA), Adem Rami Karki, has accused the government of ignoring the deadly clashes.
“The silence in the part of the government is a clear indication of negligence. That means it is either very weak and cannot deal with the problem or is itself part of the problem by deliberately doing nothing,” Karki told the Libya Herald.
In fact, the Thinni government has called for a ceasefire.
“The fighting factions in Kufra must stop the fighting immediately,” a government statement yesterday read, urging elders and “people of good faith” to intervene and stop the bloodshed.
“A ceasefire must be coordinated with Kufra’s military commander Al-Mabrouk Al-Guzwey,” it added.
Following a failed mediation attempt by the elders of the Magharba tribe two months ago, the head of Libya’s reconciliation committee, Mohamed Al-Mubasher, together with Zintani and Magharba elders have been trying to make their way to Kufra for the past five days to restart negotiations. However, with almost no electricity, the small airport is now closed. Many other supplies are also no longer available in the town.
The two main groups in the divided town have also taken opposing political views, which are seen as having re-ignited violence in the town.
The minority Tebus have supported General Khalifa Hafter until now, but say they are beginning to lose confidence in the Beida government, the House of Representatives in Tobruk and the general.
The majority Zwai community is divided. Most are largely sympathetic to the Revolutionary Council of Benghazi, and Ansar Al-Sharia is still active in the town and controls its northern gate on the road to Jalu. A small minority, however, support Hafter and the LNA. They have forces located at the airport.
Some political activists in Kufra, however, claim that the Sudanese intelligence is behind the recent tensions in the town.
Owainat, near the Sudanese border, some 300 kilometres south east of Kufra is controlled by Zwai militias allegedly guarding it in collaboration with a Sudanese army unit. [/restrict]
