2008 Kufra conflict

The 2008 Kufra conflict was an armed conflict in the Kufra region of Libya, between the pro-Toubou Toubou Front for the Salvation of Libya (TFSL) faction, and the Libyan Government. The conflict started in early November 2008 when the Libyan Government stripped ethnic Toubous of their citizenship, claiming that their leaders had sided with their rival Chad. The clashes began when TFSL set a local government's office on fire. Following the incident the government dispatched army units and helicopters to the region, putting Kufra under siege. The clashes stopped in mid-November when both parties agreed to a cease-fire. On 20 November 2008, a Toubou tribal meeting with Libyan officials was held in Kufra to end the conflict, the conflict led to the deaths of 11 to 30 people, with over a hundred being wounded.[1][2][3]

This article is about the 2008 Kufra conflict. For the 2012 conflict, see 2012 Kufra conflict.
2008 Kufra conflict
DateEarly November – end November 2008
Location
Kufra, Cyrenaica, Libya
Result ceasefire
Belligerents
Libya Toubou Front for the Salvation of Libya
Commanders and leaders
Muammar Gaddafi Issa Abdel Majid Mansur
Casualties and losses
11–30 killed
a hundred wounded

Background

After a successful coup d'état led by Muammar Gaddafi in 1969, and the republic was established; Gaddafi like Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser an Arab nationalist started to arabise the country.[4] A couple of months later a new law was passed which made Libya an Arab state and replaced it with the 1951 constitution. In the 1951 constitution states "Libyans shall be equal before the law" and also it also mentioned "shall enjoy equal civil and political rights without distinction of religion, belief, race, language, weight kinship, or political or social opinion."[5] Since then Arabic became the sole official language of Libya; both languages and cultures from minority groups like Aujila, Ghat, Ghadames, Hun, Imazighen, Jalo, Toubou, Socra and Zuwara peoples had no room in the country. Especially the Imazighen and the Toubou tribes who were persecuted and harassed by the regime. Until August 2007 a controversial law which bans Imazighen women giving birth to their children an Imazighen name. School-age children were also forced to adopt an Arabic name before they can register themselves for school.[6]

References
  1. "In Libya, Toubou Tribes Threatening To Harm Oil Production". MEMRI blog. 11 November 2008. Archived from the original on 3 September 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  2. "Libya seeks to downplay tribal violence in Kufra". The Daily Telegraph. 31 January 2011. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  3. "11 dead as violence erupts in Libya". Los Angeles Times. 8 November 2008. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  4. Ennaji 2014, p. 277.
  5. Ennaji 2014, pp. 281–282.
  6. Ennaji 2014, p. 281.

Bibliography
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