50 dead claimed in Sebha, including head of local brigade.

Tripoli, March 28: The clashes in Sebha between Tebu and local militiamen have now claimed 50 lives. The number of wounded is put at 60. The dead are said to include the leader of the Sebha Martyrs Brigade, Issa Abdurrahman, who was wounded in the fighting on Tuesday.

Government forces have been flown in to try and contain the violence. Three hundred were dispatched on Monday. They were joined by a further 300 on Tuesday.

Eye witnesses told reporters on Tuesday that further Tebu forces had come to the city to reinforce existing Tebu fighters and that that clashes had continued between them and the Sebha Martyrs Brigade all morning. Of the wounded, the Tebus were receiving treatment in Murzuq which remains under their control.

The local hospital is said to be suffering severe shortages, particularly low blood supplies. Calls were made calls over loudspeakers throughout the city urging people to donate blood.

Tebu forces were later said to have withdrawn some 20 kilometers from Sebha towards the town of Murzuq.