Six days of tribal clashes in a remote desert town in southern Libya have killed 147 people, the country s health minister says. Fatma al-Hamroush said in a Saturday news conference in Tripoli that the fighting in Sabha has also left 395 wounded. Around 180 people have been transported to the capital for emergency treatment, she said. The clashes in the oasis region some 400 miles (650 kilometers) south of Tripoli show the fragile authority of the Libyan government, particularly in the isolated settlements that dot the southern desert. With only a nascent national army and police force, Libya s ruling National Transitional Council relies on militias comprised of former rebels to keep the peace, and the country s vast distances make it difficult to deploy them to trouble spots. Deposed dictator Moammar Gadhafi s 40 years in power moreover left behind a patchwork of local rivalries. The Sabha fighting pits southern Libyan Arab tribes that reportedly had close connections to Gadhafi against the African Tabu tribe, which fought against him.
Mfarhanonline News
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