Tribal warfare continues for the fifth day straight in Libya, with 47 killed in the last three days alone and over 100 reportedly wounded. Ethnic strife in Libya has cost hundreds of lives since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime last October.
The Toubou and Zawiya ethnic groups are locked in a bitter conflict to control smuggling in the Saharan oasis Kufra, a town with population of around 40,000 conveniently located in a triangle where the borders of Chad, Egypt and Sudan converge.
The fighting erupted on Wednesday. Both sides are using heavy weapons, including armored vehicles. The Toubou people claim that Zawia are shelling Toubou neighborhoods with mortars, forcing them to strike back. The Daraa Shield brigade of the Libyan army deployed in the area has not intervened in the conflict.
Wissam Ben Hamid, commander of the brigade, told AFP that "negotiations are now underway to calm tensions."
Women and children have found themselves in the crosshairs of the conflict, constituting over 50 per cent of the wounded.
Read More: Libyan tribal clashes: 47 dead in three days — RT
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