The divisions tearing apart Libya are not only at the state level but also within smaller communities polarized by tribal strife. Taiora neighborhood, located in the southwestern city of Sabha, has seen ongoing tribal warfare for most of July and, amidst the security gap, has had to rely on its elders to resolve conflicts that have displaced hundreds of residents.

Tebu vs. Tuareg

The divisions tearing apart Libya are not only at the state level but also within smaller communities polarized by tribal strife. Taiora neighborhood, located in the southwestern city of Sabha, has seen ongoing tribal warfare for most of July and, amidst the security gap, has had to rely on its elders to resolve conflicts that have displaced hundreds of residents.

Tebu vs. Tuareg

Suleiman Gouso, a member of the Sons of Tebu Desert society, said the tension amongst Tebu and Tuareg tribes in Taiora neighborhood started on July 15, when news of tribal fighting in nearby Ubari, spread to Taiora.

Abdul Rahman Amarig, member of Imouhag Organization which is concerned with Targi (Tuareg) heritage, underlined that some Targi families displaced from Ubari to Sabha settled with relatives in Taiora. The stories of war tragedies and humanitarian impacts were ever present in their conversations and as is the case with Tebu tribe members who regularly communicate with their cousins in that region which, he believes, contributed to the outbreak of the clashes.

Sabha Medical Center received more than 30 bodies since the start of the clashes by July 22, according to Osama Wafi, Head of the Information Office. He added that the center buried 12 bodies, including four Taiora clash victims, in cooperation with the Public Prosecutor’s office.

Head of Investigation and Control Section at Gardah Police Station Yahya Shoael said that most of the casualties were not trained fighters and that the clashes were mostly marked by violence during which medium and heavy weapons were used and that random mortar shells landed on people’s homes. Some families had to be evacuated.

Displacement

Aysha Targi, in charge of the internally displaced persons (IDP)s at Aisha School, said more than 200 families have been displaced from the neighborhood to schools in the Manshiya neighborhood while some of the displaced people were received by nearby farms. The neighborhood located near Sabha Airport, experienced the displacement of dozens of families into the city.

Targi added that most of the displaced people left their homes without even taking their personal belongings and that they are sleeping in the classrooms’ corridors and school yards amid frequent electric power outages and high temperatures.

Head of Red Crescent Society at Sabha branch Mohammed Abokhozam said the Red Crescent dispatched teams to IDP havens in the schools and farms to enquire about their needs, register them and coordinate efforts to provide them with medical care and basic items.

A broken truce

Efforts made by the tribe’s elders succeeded in bringing about a truce between the two sides on the eve of Eid, which went into effect on the second day of the Eid. The most important provisions of the reached agreement were to withdraw gunmen from the streets of Taiora neighborhood and allow the displaced families to return to their homes and ensure the appropriate means to achieve such end.

However, the truce was breached on July 20 with renewed fighting between the two sides and mortar shells landing on people’s homes.

Member of the Elders Council Abdul Hamid Zeidani said there were efforts to activate the truce and re-commit both sides to comply with it. He stressed that the elders and wise men are meeting with Tebu and Tuareg leaders inside Taiora neighborhood in an effort to restore the ceasefire. Zeidani said he expects that the truce will be revived in the coming days if all parties agree to it.