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By Jamal Adel.
Kufra, 7 November 2014:
A House of Representatives delegation led by President Ageela Saleh has met . . .[restrict]Tebu leaders at El-Fil oilfield seeking to find a solution to the current violent crisis in Obari.
Hussain Shakay, one of the Tebu elders present, told the Libya Herald that the talks were devoted to seeing how the warring Tebu and Tuareg factions in the town could resolve their differences.
“We made it clear that we welcome any efforts towards reconciliation and peace,” Shakay explained. “We don’t have serious grievances with the Tuaregs who we know well. The problem is rather with some Tuareg militias who have defected and are being driven by another agenda,” he added.
Fighting between Tebus and Tuaregs erupted in September when a pro-Libya Dawn Tuareg militia tried to take control of a local petrol station guarded by Tebus. A peace deal mediated by elders from local towns as well as by Zintanis later broke down.
Since then Tuareg militias have launched a series of raids into Obari from the Tendi Mountain to the west, firing mortars and Grad missiles. A number of residents has fled their homes as a result of the violence.
Production at Sharara oilfield, some 60 kilometres from Obari, ground to a halt yesterday after attacks a day before by a Tuareg militia aligned with Libya Dawn. Last week, Saleh met Tuareg leaders at Sharara oilfield.
Tuareg elders from Obari, as well as the town’s Tebus, have both pledged allegiance to the House of Representatives. The outcome of the current peace negotiations remains in doubt, as the Tuareg armed groups involved in the recent violence appear to be beyond the control of Tuareg elders.
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