Libya: Violent Tribal Clashes in Sabha, South Libya
Sabha, Libya 20/11/2016
The village of Sabha was completely deserted, its shops closed, following violent clashes that erupted the previous night between the Awlad Suleiman and the Qaddafa tribes – with the later being Libya’s late president Qaddafi’s tribe.
The cause of the dispute, reportedly, was the sexual harassment by a member of the Qaddafa tribe against a girl from the Awlad Suleiman’s tribe.
Bloody clashes ensued forcing the town to shut its shops down and its inhabitants to hurry indoors so that they were not caught in the crossfire. The local hospital reported receiving ten dead and ten wounded people as a result of the bloody confrontation where heavy guns and mortar fires were used in the fight.
The town notables failed to mediate peace between the two tribes. Other efforts included those of the Social Council for Warfala tribes.
The two tribes, who live side by side in Sabha’s Mansheya region, historically have strong bonds.
Tension in Sabha remains.