Rival tribes exchange gunfire south of Tripoli
- 13 years ago
Fighters take up positions southwest of Tripoli as rival militias exchanged gunfire on Monday. Four people were killed in the latest flare up of violence in Wamis, which is 120 miles outside the capital.
SOUNDBITE: Ali Ibrahim saying:
"The shelling was from all sides. I swear to god we were praying and shaking, even the mosque was hit from the side - you can see it yourself - while we were praying. We didn't expect this act from our neighbors and brothers -- in religion, in blood and in nationhood -- at all."
Members of the El-Mashasha tribe say Zintan tribesmen attacked a local school as fighting between the groups went into its second day. Tribal rivalries are considered the primary security threat facing Libya since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
Tripoli is so concerned about the enmity between tribes that they've called elders from both groups to the capital for an emergency meeting on Monday. Speaking to reporters that same day, National Transitional Council Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil asked Libyans to be patient with the process of setting up a new government.
Deborah Gembara, Reuters.
SOUNDBITE: Ali Ibrahim saying:
"The shelling was from all sides. I swear to god we were praying and shaking, even the mosque was hit from the side - you can see it yourself - while we were praying. We didn't expect this act from our neighbors and brothers -- in religion, in blood and in nationhood -- at all."
Members of the El-Mashasha tribe say Zintan tribesmen attacked a local school as fighting between the groups went into its second day. Tribal rivalries are considered the primary security threat facing Libya since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
Tripoli is so concerned about the enmity between tribes that they've called elders from both groups to the capital for an emergency meeting on Monday. Speaking to reporters that same day, National Transitional Council Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil asked Libyans to be patient with the process of setting up a new government.
Deborah Gembara, Reuters.