Tribal clashes in SE Libya kill 47 in 3 days

"Thirty-two have been killed this week in the two Toubou residential areas," AFP quoted Taher Wehli, a medic treating casualties among the Toubou ethnic group, which is partly based in southern Libya, as saying.

"The number of wounded exceeds 100. Women and children make up more than half of the injured, with the majority of them hurt by mortar fire," he noted.

Taher said eight deaths had been reported in his clinic on Saturday alone.

A tribal leader said shelling continued against the Toubou-residing areas in the desert city.

According to UN figures, in February, tribal clashes in Kufra claimed the lives of over 100 people and forced half of the city’s population to flee.

The latest clashes come ahead of a national assembly vote, scheduled for July 7, the first poll after 42 years of dictatorship under Muammar Gaddafi.

Months after Gaddafi’s fall from power, the National Transitional Council (NTC), which has replaced the slain dictator’s regime, is still struggling to assert its authority across the violence-scarred country.

The NTC has not been very successful in controlling rival regional militias and tribes, engaged in fighting for power and resources.