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By Jamal Adel.
Tripoli, 12 May 2014:
Seven hundred trainee police officers graduated today in Sebha at the first ceremony of its kind . . .[restrict]in the town since renewed fighting erupted there in January.
Weeks of deadly clashes began in Sebha and the surrounding area after Tebu gunmen laid siege and stormed police headquarters in Taraghin, 140 kilometres to the south. The attack started during a police graduation ceremony.
Spokesman for the Misratan Third Force in Sebha Ala Al-Huwaik told the Libya Herald there had been a huge turnout for the event which had included a parades and prize givings. He added that the commander of Misratan forces, Sebha’s head of security, the head of the Ministry of Defence in Sebha and a number of other military and local dignitaries were in attendance.
Misratan forces entered Sebha in late January after tribal and ethic tensions boiled over, destabilising the surrounding region and allowing Qaddafi supporters to gain a foothold at nearby Taminhent airbase.
The graduation is viewed as another sign that normality may be returning to Sebha after twelve militiamen, said to have been involved in communal clashes in the area, were released less than one week ago. Their release came following negotiations to ease tensions between local Tebu and Awlad Suleiman groups. [/restrict]
