Monkey Attack Sparks Tribal Conflict Resulting In 16 Dead & 50 Wounded

When three men set a pet monkey loose on a schoolgirl who then pulled off her headscarf, two tribes in the southern city of Sabha clashed in a series of retaliations that resulted in the death of 16 people with another 50 being injured.

According to a resident who spoke to Reuters, to retaliate for the monkey attack the Awlad Suleiman tribe killed three people from the Gaddadfa tribe as well as the monkey, although local officials could not be reached to confirm. The resident claims, “There was an escalation on the second and third days with the use of tanks, mortars and other heavy weapons.” They continue, “There are still sporadic clashes and life is completely shut down in the areas where there has been fighting.”

When describing the devastation, a representative of the nearby medical center claims, “There are women and children among the wounded and some foreigners from sub-Saharan African countries among those killed due to indiscriminate shelling.”

Sabha is one of many regions of Libya that have had massive conflicts like these in the past five years since the uprising that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi, dividing the nation into warring factions.

[H/T The Guardian]