At Least 35 Killed as Southern Libya’s Kufra Erupts Again

Tabu Militias Clash With Govt. Forces for Second Straight Day

Reports from the southern Libyan city of Kufra suggest that ethnic tensions in the oasis town are again boiling over, with at least 35 people killed this weekend in fighting between members of the Tabu tribes and the local government forces.

Fighting reportedly broke out Saturday, when Tabu militias attacked a government office, an attack that killed 15 pro-regime fighters. Retaliatory fighting hit the Tabu community today, with a doctor saying at least 20 Tabu, including women and children, were slain.

The Tabu have been clashing with Zwia tribesmen in the south of and on since the fall of the Gadhafi regime, with both sides claiming the other were “Gadhafi loyalists” and launching tit-for-tat attacks that escalate.

Earlier this year, the Tabu leader Chief Mansour claimed that the government was conducting a policy of ethnic cleansing, and urged the international community to help them in a war of secession.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.