By Mustafa Khalifa.
Ghat, 2 August 2015:
There were again violent clashes on Friday night between Tebu and Tuareg gunmen in the southwest . . .[restrict]town of Obari despite efforts both to end hostilities between the two ethnic groups.
“But they did not last long”, said Magdi Bohna, spokesman for the Tuareg operations room in the town.
At much the same time, in Brussels, Tuareg and Tebu delegations from Obari and elsewhere in south west Libya were meeting for three days of talks to try and end the violence. The meetings were brokered by the French NGO Promediation led by Eric Blanchot.
According to Ahmed Baye, who headed the Tuareg delegation, the negotiations resulted in an agreement to work together for peace in the town. They were reported to have been tough-going, with both sides initially reluctant to meet and talk face-to-face. However, the atmosphere changed as both sides laid out their positions. One of the main ones from the Tebu, he said, was security for their residents in the town while the Tuareg who normally comprise the majority there wanted to ensure they controlled it.
Both teams have now returned from Brussels but there will now be further negotiations between the two to ensure a lasting ceasefire, possibly in Tunisia.
In a statement signed by both sides, in which they said they had started a dialogue that could lead to peace, they also called for humanitarian aid for all Obari’s residents affected by the fighting, especially the many who have been displaced.
One of the members of the Tuareg delegation, Abdullah al-Sharif, called for EU help. “We asked the European Union for urgent humanitarian aid for Obari’s displaced and for those in other towns in Libya.”
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