Clashes between rival tribes are dozens dead in southern Libya

Clashes ENTERED rival tribes that broke this weekend around the oasis of Kufra in southeastern Libya, have caused dozens of deaths, reported Thursday the two sides. Militiamen of the tribe Zwai Toubou fighters clash led by Issa Abdel Majid, whom they accuse of wanting to seize the oasis with the help of mercenaries from neighboring Chad, according Abdelbari Idriss, a senior security Zwai . Abdel Majid's men fought last year with the rebels against Muammar Gaddafi.

"The situation remains complicated today. The Toubou attacked the town with mortars and there were snipers," said Idriss told Reuters, adding that the attackers had received reinforcements from other localities in this desert area . He reported 15 dead and 45 wounded among the Zwais.

Toubous say they also assaulted. According to Mohammed Laban, tribal member and representative of an association of Kufra, 55 of them were killed and 117 wounded. "This is the crisis here. There are no doctors, no water. Shops are closed," he told Reuters by telephone. The Toubou ethnic group is mainly located in northern Chad, but also in southern Libya, Sudan and Niger.

The National Transitional Council (CNT), which now exercises power in Libya, is struggling to assert his authority on the many tribal groups and regional militias that have mushroomed during the Civil War. Bou Farhat Abdel Karim Hareg, coordinator of Social Affairs of the Government of Kufra, accused the NLC of neglecting the interests of this province, the largest of Libya, bordering Chad and Sudan. For him, the attitude of the new Libyan authorities, who do nothing to prevent such attacks "mercenaries", could lead the region to declare independence.