Tripoli, 10 August:
Essa Abdul Majid, the Tebu leader in Kufra, came under attack by members of the Zway tribe yesterday morning, . . .[restrict]as he travelled to Rebyana, 100km north of the desert oasis.
Initial reports had suggested that Abdul Majid was withdrawing from Kufra in the face of continued violence in the area, however, his cousin Younis Essa told the Libya Herald that the reality was quite different.
“He was on his way to Rebyana to spend the Eid holiday with his grandfather”, Essa said. ”
The attack took place when the convoy carrying Abdul Majid was passing through a Zway neighbourhood early on Thursday morning. Essa said that a number of Zway men came out of their houses and started shooting at the vehicles; he confirmed that nobody was hurt and the group reached Rebyana safely.
The incident comes against a backdrop of ongoing violence between the two tribes, which has caused several hundred casualties since February. It had been hoped that an agreement signed last week might have brought the conflict to an end, but it seems to have had little effect.
Tribal leaders are set to meet again after Eid to make fresh attempts to bring peace to the region. [/restrict]
