SUMMARY
In the aftermath of the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, the lack of functioning national security forces plunged much of Libya into a security vacuum. Consequently, this increased communal tensions, which eventually led to localized power struggles between various groups. Around the desert town Ubari – located in Libya’s Fezzan region – competition between local groups was driven by the collapse of the local economy, which had been highly reliant on tourism. Local groups – such as the Toubou and Touareg – began competing for alternative means of income, such as smuggling. One contentious issue was access to the vast petroleum and oil installations around Ubari, as fuel smuggling was particularly lucrative. In 2014, the political situation in Libya exploded, with several factions fighting for government power in Libya’s coastal Tripolitania region. However, the violence also had repercussions for Libya’s Fezzan, as the competition for political power contributed to exacerbating communal tensions.
Fighting in Ubari between Toubou and Touareg erupted in September 2014. While Libyan government or House of Representatives forces played no direct role in the Ubari fighting, the clashes in Tripolitania still affected Toubou- Touareg relations; the former was loosely affiliated to the House of Representatives, while the latter was loosely affiliated to the Government of Libya. For example, Touareg fighters participated in the capture of the large Sharara oil field by government-affiliated Misratan militias from House of Representatives-affiliated Zintani forces - supported by Toubou fighters – in November 2014. The proximate cause for the fighting in Ubari did however appear to have been a disagreement between Toubou and Touareg fuel smugglers operating in the Ubari area, which underpinned the localized dynamic in the conflict. When the dispute erupted, tribal authorities in Ubari attempted to deescalate the situation, but as the Toubou and the Touareg accused each other of guilt, violence began to escalate. There was also an influx of fighters from other towns, as for example Toubou fighters arrived from Sebha and Murzuq. Before long, the two groups’ fighters were locked in a deadly war of attrition, as they occupied strategically important locations in Ubari. Most of the actual fighting took the form of sniper attacks, smaller skirmishes, and indiscriminate shelling of residential areas. In July 2015, fighting between the two groups also spread to Sebha, Fezzan’s largest town.
The fighting took a heavy toll on both groups, with more than 80 people being killed in 2015 alone. However, it was suggested that the death toll may have been far higher than the numbers that were possible for the UCDP to verify. In Ubari, the fighting also led to thousands of injuries, as well as destroyed businesses and civilian homes; more than half of Ubari’s civilian population was also displaced to neighboring towns. The Toubou- Touareg conflict was not brought under control until the groups signed a peace agreement in February 2016. As part of this agreement, the Toubou and Touareg agreed to divide Ubari into separate areas of control; it was also agreed that a “peacekeeping force” from the neighboring Hassawna tribe should be deployed in Ubari. Nevertheless, tensions between communal groups in Fezzan persisted, and the risk of renewed violent conflict remained high.
The non-state conflict between Toubou and Touaregis first included in UCDP data in 2014. In December of that year, clashes between the two groups had resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.
