Tribal tensions recently reared their head in the city of Kufra, southeastern Libya, against the backdrop of disputes between the “Zawi” and “Tebu” tribes, following the promotion of organizing a celebration on the occasion of the “National Day of Tebawi Culture” in the city, in a scene that brought back to the fore memories of a bloody armed conflict for months between the two parties about 11 years ago.
Sheikh Ibrahim Abu Bakr Nasr, head of the Supreme Council of Sheikhs and Notables of Fezzan, links the current tensions in Kufra to a broader context, considering that they resulted from “inherited accumulations since the overthrow of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, in light of the weak presence of the state, and the resulting social tensions, problems at the borders, flows of immigrants, and changes in demographic composition,” according to a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat.
Since the end of the armed conflict between the Zwai and the Tabu 11 years ago, Kufra has not witnessed a final social settlement that would completely end its repercussions. The fighting, which broke out in Kufra and its surroundings, and ended in October 2015, resulted in the death and injury of dozens, before mediation led by tribal leaders and parliamentarians succeeded in reaching an end to the fighting.
But a few days ago, tension between the two tribes returned to the forefront, with residents of the Tebu component announcing the organization of a “National Day of Tebawi Culture” on September 15 in the city, with the participation of the activist and social figure Babai Inkazi Tebawi. This raised objections from members of the Zwai tribe, who considered receiving him in Kufra a provocation, in light of previous tensions between the two sides, according to a local source who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat, preferring not to mention his name due to the sensitivity of the situation.
The dispute escalated after a video clip was circulated on Libyan social media pages and local media, on Friday, of the head of the “Social Council of the Zwai Tribe,” Al-Senussi Al-Halaq, during a meeting with Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh and tribal leaders, in which he criticized the holding of a Toubou festival in Kufra, saying that organizing it “does not take into account the feelings of the Zwai tribe,” in light of the failure to reach a final reconciliation between the two parties.
Al-Hulaiq warned of the repercussions of “the instability of the south-east,” citing reports of the spread of millions of weapons outside the authority of the state, before criticizing the decision of the Osama Hammad government to adopt a plan for the municipality of Rabianah and allocate 4,500 plots of land there. He accused the authorities of allowing numbers of Tebu coming from Chad and Niger to settle in the region, describing this as “open and frank settlement.”
In an attempt to contain the repercussions of his statements, the tribal leader clarified that his speech did not include the Libyan Tebu, saying: “Our hands are always extended to the Libyan Tebu, as they are our brothers in the homeland, but our talk is about non-Libyans.”
These statements sparked angry reactions in Tebu social circles on Friday evening, which considered describing those coming from Chad and Niger as “mabbada” (slaves) as an unacceptable insult, and saw it as a speech carrying racist and inflammatory connotations.
The “Tabawi National Rally” addressed a letter to Aguila Saleh, in which it considered the issuance of statements during a meeting in his presence as “an extremely dangerous matter,” warning that such a speech might threaten civil peace and open the door to tensions based on identity and ethnic affiliation. The gathering called on Saleh to clarify his personal position and the position of the House of Representatives regarding the statements, and to condemn any threat targeting the Tabu in various parts of Libya.
Tebu sheikhs, notables, and youth also expressed their rejection of what they described as “insult and racist rhetoric” against their constituents, demanding that Al-Haliq submit an apology. They warned, in a statement, that rhetoric of contempt and discrimination could increase tension and harm the social fabric, calling on the wise men of the Zwai tribe to contribute to containing the situation.
Kufra acquires special sensitivity in the Libyan scene, due to its location in the far southeast, near the borders with Egypt, Sudan, and Chad, in addition to its diverse social composition, and the intersection of tribal and border considerations therein.
The city includes two main social groups: Arabs and Tebu. In the absence of a recent official population census, previous research estimates reported by Chatham House indicate that the number of Arabs in Kufra, including the Zwai, was about 55,000 people, compared to less than 10,000 Tebu. These numbers do not necessarily reflect the current demographic situation.
In an attempt to contain the tension, a member of the Supreme Council of State, Musa Faraj, called for not turning disputes resulting from individual positions into a social conflict, stressing the authenticity of the tribe in Libyan society, with the need for its social and moral role to remain without replacing the state and citizenship, according to a Facebook post.
As for the member of the Constituent Assembly for Drafting the Constitution, Rania Al-Said, she recalled that the Libyans united during the resistance to the Italian invasion, away from tribal and regional affiliations, stressing that the tribe was at that time “a trench to defend the homeland and not a wall for division,” in reference to the importance of national unity.
Kufra is the most prominent center of the Zwai tribe in southeastern Libya, with a historical presence in Ajdabiya and other areas of Cyrenaica and the desert interior. As for the “Tebu”, they are a cross-border Sahrawi ethnic group, spread across southern Libya, northern Chad and Niger, and have a prominent presence in Kufra and its environs.
With the return of tribal tensions, the head of the Supreme Council of Tribes and Sheikhs of Fezzan believes that the General Command of the National Army, which controls eastern Libya and large parts of its south, is trying to deal calmly with such tensions, in a way that preserves social peace, but he believes that security treatment alone is not enough to end their causes.
He concludes that the most sustainable solution remains linked to returning stability to state institutions and strengthening their presence on the borders and in southern cities, thus limiting the ability of tribal and border disputes to turn into new security and social crises.
