SUMMARY
In 2011, the NTC rebel coalition staged an uprising against Libya’s dictator Muammar Gaddafi. While the NTC successfully ousted Gaddafi, the conflict left Libya’s political and security institutions in complete disarray. The transitional government that succeeded Gaddafi failed to rebuild the destroyed military and security forces, which left most parts of the country in the hands of armed militias. The eruption of communal violence in many parts of southern Libya in the aftermath of the 2011 uprising was directly linked to the absence of functioning national security forces, which caused various tribal and ethnic groups to engage in violent competition for power and influence.
Sebha – an oasis town located along vital trade- and smuggling routes connecting the North African interior with the Libyan coast – has been a flashpoint for conflict for centuries. During Ottoman rule, Sebha was central to the Libyan tribes that sought to halt the Ottoman expansion into the Fezzan; the town even briefly served as the capital of an independent Awlad Suleiman sultanate in the mid-1800s. During Gaddafi’s rule, the Qadhadhfa tribe – which maintained a centuries-old tribal alliance with the Awlad Suleiman - dominated Sebha. However, as the 2011 uprising pitted Sebha’s tribes against each other, the old balance of power in the town was disrupted. While the Qadhadhfa sided with Gaddafi, the Arab Awlad Suleiman and Toubou – a nomadic group with a strong presence in the Fezzan – sided with the anti-Gaddafi rebels. Awlad Suleiman and Toubou fighters cooperated in the capture of several Fezzan towns – including Sebha – during the final stage of the 2011 uprising, but the relationship between the two groups quickly soured. The Awlad Suleiman – which had re-established itself as the dominant group around Sebha - became increasingly worried about the growing influence of the Toubou.
In March 2012, members of the Arab Awlad Busayf tribe – one of the smaller tribal groups in the Sebha area – accused a Toubou of stealing a car. The Awlad Suleiman intervened in the dispute, which further increased the tensions. Large-scale fighting between the Awlad Busayf and Awlad Suleiman on one hand and the Toubou on the other then erupted after a failed reconciliation meeting in Sebha’s “People’s Hall”. In another account of the origins of the fighting, it was said that armed Toubou also seized large quantities of money during the aforementioned car robbery; this money was earmarked for various armed revolutionary brigades in the Sebha area. Allegedly, the robbery also led to the death of several Arabs of unclear tribal affiliation. In response to the robbery, the Awlad Suleiman then shelled Toubou residential areas and killed several Toubou notables.
Regardless of the exact proximate cause behind the March 2012 clashes in Sebha, the fighting spread quickly to several residential areas, and it involved the use of light and medium weapons. The clashes took a heavy civilian toll, as both sides resorted to indiscriminate shelling of densely populated neighborhoods. The shelling of Toubou shantytowns on Sebha’s outskirts by the two Arab tribes was particularly severe. In less than a weak of intense fighting, more than 160 people were killed in Sebha. The clashes did not abate until the Government of Libya ordered the deployment of the Saiqa Brigade – one of the few remaining army units – to Sebha. The Saiqa Brigade, which was led by Colonel Wanis Bukhamada, did not directly intervene in the fighting, but focused on separating the warring factions. Despite this intervention, tensions in Sebha remained high, and new clashes involving various communal groups erupted in 2014 and 2016.
The non-state conflict between Awlad Busayf, Awlad Suleiman and Toubou is first included in UCDP data in 2012. In late March of that year, clashes between the groups had resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.
