الرئيسية
WAMIS, Libya (Reuters) - An outbreak of fighting south of the Libyan
capital which killed at least four people stopped on Tuesday after local
elders agreed a ceasefire, Reuters journalists in the area said.
The conflict, a flare-up of an old rivalry between the provincial
town of Zintan and the neighboring El-Mashasha tribe, underlined the
tension and insecurity in Libya after the overthrow of leader Muammar
Gaddafi.
Reuters journalists in the town of Wamis, about 190 km (120 miles)
from Tripoli, on Monday saw damage to buildings caused by rocket or
artillery fire which local people said had been directed on their town
from Zintan.
On a visit to the town on Tuesday, there was no sign of any fighting.
A local leader, Ibrahim Masood, said a committee of elders the day
before had agreed a ceasefire and the release of prisoners by both
sides.
"Our first aim is Libya and to stop the killing of Libyans," he said.
Two months after Gaddafi was captured and killed, Libya has become a
cauldron of competing regional, tribal and other groups which often
clash violently with each other. The fragile central government exerts
little control over the groups.
Fighters from Zintan played a vital role in forcing Gaddafi's forces
out of Tripoli. Militias from the town are now among the most powerful
forces in the country.
capital which killed at least four people stopped on Tuesday after local
elders agreed a ceasefire, Reuters journalists in the area said.
The conflict, a flare-up of an old rivalry between the provincial
town of Zintan and the neighboring El-Mashasha tribe, underlined the
tension and insecurity in Libya after the overthrow of leader Muammar
Gaddafi.
Reuters journalists in the town of Wamis, about 190 km (120 miles)
from Tripoli, on Monday saw damage to buildings caused by rocket or
artillery fire which local people said had been directed on their town
from Zintan.
On a visit to the town on Tuesday, there was no sign of any fighting.
A local leader, Ibrahim Masood, said a committee of elders the day
before had agreed a ceasefire and the release of prisoners by both
sides.
"Our first aim is Libya and to stop the killing of Libyans," he said.
Two months after Gaddafi was captured and killed, Libya has become a
cauldron of competing regional, tribal and other groups which often
clash violently with each other. The fragile central government exerts
little control over the groups.
Fighters from Zintan played a vital role in forcing Gaddafi's forces
out of Tripoli. Militias from the town are now among the most powerful
forces in the country.