Underscoring just how unstable the new Libyan regime’s coalition of tribes are, fighting broke out this weekend between members of the Saean Arab tribes in the Nalut District, as they fought with members of the rival Berber tribe, a fight which started in Nalut but quickly included an ambush in the capital city of Tripoli.
Though tribal clashes are nothing new, the two were working together closely through the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi from Tripoli. Now, the locals in the mostly Arab town of Badr say they’re sick of heavily armed Berbers showing up and barging into their homes.
But when the Arab tribal militia tried to stop the Berbers from entering, it started a gunbattle that left three killed. The Arab force then moved in to Tripoli and attacked more members of the Berber force there.
Though most of the faction fighting in Libya’s rebel council leadership centers around a split between Islamists and defectors, across the nation long-standing grudges are starting to flare up again and this weekend’s fighting is unlikely to be the end of it.
What a surprise, they're fighting amongst themselves along tribal lines! Who could ever have foreseen this?
What a sick joke.
Tribal nations are either ruled by a tyrant or they will be at each others throat. Ghadaffi was as good as Libya was going to get.