Monkey attack on schoolgirl in Libya sparks tribal conflict killing at least 20 people

Activists and medics say tribal clashes that erupted in southern Libya after three young men turned a pet monkey loose on a high school girl have killed at least 20 people.

The girl's family sought revenge after the monkey scratched and bit her last week, and killed all three men along with the animal.

Bader al-Daheli, a civil activist, said Sunday that the two main tribes in the southern city of Sabha, Awlad Suleiman and Gadhadhfa, are each backed by armed groups.

Abdel-Rahman Areish, the head of Sabha hospital, said 20 people have been killed and 50 wounded.

"There was an escalation on the second and third days with the use of tanks, mortars and other heavy weapons," a resident told Reuters by telephone, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the desintigrating security situation.

"There are still sporadic clashes and life is completely shut down in the areas where there has been fighting."

The casualty toll was for the Awed Suleiman tribe alone as information was not immediately available from another hospital being used for their rivals.

In the Sabha region, a hub for refugee and arms smuggling in Libya's often neglected south, militia abuses and the deterioration of living conditions have been especially acute.

The Gaddadfa and the Awlad Suleiman represent the most powerful armed factions in the region.

During the latest clashes, which took place in the city centre, initial attempts by tribal leaders to calm the fighting and arrange a ceasefire so that bodies could be recovered had failed, residents said.

Libya slid into chaos after the 2011 ouster and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Much of the country is effectively ruled by a patchwork of local or tribal militias.

Reuters and AFP