Two weeks of Libya clashes leave 88 dead

A state of emergency is in place in southern Libya, with violence in Sebha leaving at least 88 people dead, according to the city's hospital director.

Two weeks of ethnic clashes in Libya's main southern city Sebha have left at least 88 dead and more than 130 wounded.

"Between the outbreak of the fighting on January 11 and Friday evening, the number of dead totalled 88," the city's hospital director Abdallah Ouheida said on Saturday.

He said the full death toll was almost certainly higher as casualties had also been taken to other hospitals in the region.

He said there had been sporadic clashes on Saturday but no immediate new casualties.

The fighting erupted between members of the Toubou minority, a non-Arab ethnic group, and armed Arab tribesmen of the Awled Sleiman.

There has since been fighting between the Awled Sleiman and other Arab tribes that is reported to have involved supporters of slain dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Gaddafi loyalists have taken advantage of the chaos to launch repeated attacks on the city's Tamenhant air base, municipal council chief Ayoub Al-Zarrouk said.

Libya's General National Congress declared a state of emergency in the south on January 18 at an extraordinary session convened to discuss the violence in Sebha.


Share
1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP

Tags

Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world