By Hadi Fornaji and Jamie Prentis.
Tunis, 20 July 2017:
In a bid to try and cement reconciliation efforts in the south of the country, deputy Presidency Council (PC) leader Abdulsalam Kajman has again met representatives from the Awlad Sulaiman tribe and the Tebu community as well as other southern figures.
The meeting, held in Tripoli yesterday, was a continuation of the one in Rome in March, also attended by Kajman, at which the two groups, as well as the Tuareg, signed a peace deal which was supposed to come into effect immediately.
However, the deal was dependent on the PC’s government of national accord taking action on the development of the south, which has not happened. A significant section of the Tebu community also rejected the deal on the grounds that those who negotiated in their name did not represent them.
Yesterday’s meeting aimed at dealing with Tebu objections and activating the Rome agreement. It also covered compensation for those of their communities who suffered losses as a result of five years of clashes in the south, investment in development, and the reopening of Sebha airport.
Over the past five years there have been several peace deals agreed by virtually all the clashing communities in the south, all to no effect.
In a sign of how little has changed, yesterday’s Tripoli meeting coincided with yet more clashes in Sebha’s Manshiya district. The Libya Herald’s correspondent in the town reported that last night he could hear explosions although these has died down by the morning. Another source said that RPGs had been fired.
There have been no reports so far of casualties.
The LH correspondent added that the Awlad Sulaiman and the Qaddadfa tribes were thought to have been involved.
