SUMMARY

The Mashashia were originally a relatively small and disadvantaged tribe in the Nafusa Mountains of Libya. They settled in this region during the period of Italian colonization, mainly in and around Sheguiga, including the towns of Mizdah, Zawiyat al-Baqul and Awainiya. Their relatively recent settlement meant that their livelihood depended upon arrangements with multiple tribes to use their land. For example, the Mashashia had sharecropping agreements with the Amazigh (also known as Imazighen or Berber) and they used grazing land controlled by the Warfalla and Zintan tribes.

Despite this, the Zintan were long-term adversaries of the Mashashia. Since the 19th and 20th century, tribes in the Nafusa Mountains have been forming alliances to pursue their struggles over land and political dominance against other groups. For example, the Mashashia were historically allied with the Amazigh (also known as Imazighen or Berber) against a rival alliance that included the Zintan as a core tribe.

From the 1980s, members of the Mashashia joined the internal security services and security brigades as the Government of Libya broadened its network to include individuals from smaller and marginalized tribes. Under the political regime of Muammar Gaddafi, the Government of Libya, exploited intercommunal rivalries to build itself a greater support base by favoring tribes with limited land rights. Therefore, the Government of Libya ignored these established land arrangements and implemented socialist agricultural schemes, which benefited disadvantaged tribes with limited land rights including the Mashashia. This led to or exarcebated grievances with other tribes such as the Zintan and Gontrar.