Country/entity

Libya

Region

Middle East and North Africa

Agreement name

Agreement for Peaceful Coexistence [between Tebu and Awlad Sulayman in Sabha]

Date

13 May 2018

Agreement status

Multiparty signed/agreed

Interim arrangement

Yes

Agreement/conflict level

Intrastate/local conflict

Libyan Conflicts (1969 - 1994) (2011 - )

Agreements relate to two distinct conflict dyads.
Libya-Chad. Since the 1970s, Libya under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi had a tense relationship with its neighbour Chad, predominantly focused on the resource-rich Aouzou Strip in northern Chad. Libyan claims of the Aouzou Strip were held in an un-ratified treaty between France and Italy in 1935, similarly Chadian claims of the Strip were argued with support of a 1955 treaty between Libya and France. In 1973, Libya effectively annexed the Strip to gain access to natural resources. This spurred cross-border clashes between 1979 until 1987 until escalated to a brief war known as the Toyota War, wherein Chadian government troops succeeded in repelling Libyan forces. A brief and repeatedly violated ceasefire was held from 1987-88, followed by a series of unsuccessful negotiations, until an International Court of Justice ruling in 1994, which granted sovereignty of the Strip to Chad.

Libya post-Gaddafi. Gaddafi’s downfall following the Libyan Civil War in 2011-2012, led to several factions fighting for the country’s leadership. Since 2013, the country effectively split into three entities, with the National Army controlling the east including the city of Benghazi, and the New General National Congress and their militias such as the Golden Dawn controlling the northwest including the capital of Tripoli. Significant portions of the country in the south-west are currently held by Tuareg forces. The civil war and chaos continued into 2014 as the General National Congress refused to disband after the expiry of its mandate, resulting in eruption of mass protests. The UN efforts continue to broker peace between the Libyan Army and the Libya Dawn factions, and a partial ceasefire was declared in January 2015. A new interim-government (Tunisia-based) called ‘Government of National Accord’ is formed with the backing of UN despite the refusal of the other forces to recognise its authority and arrived to Tripoli with the UN in 2016. A state of emergency was declared by the UN backed government amid clashed between rival militia in Tripoli’s southern suburbs. Since April 2019 there has been sustained fighting between the Libyan National Army and the UN-backed government in Tripoli as the Libyan National Army aims to seize Tripoli.

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Libyan Conflicts (1969 - 1994) (2011 - )

Stage

Pre-negotiation/process

Conflict nature

Inter-group

Peace process

Libyan local processes

Parties

From the Tebu
1) Al Hajj Muhammad Sidi Lazlah [Signed]
2) Al Hajj Ali Sidi Kasrah [Signed]
3) Shuha Adam Shika [Signed]
4) Saleh Lamda Musa [Signed]

From the Awlad Sulayman
1) Muhammad Ali Ibrahim [Signed]
2) Omar Ahmad Muhammad [Signed]
3) Milyur Masoud Khalifah [Signed]
4) Mabrook Abdullah Masoud [Signed]

Third parties

Certified by Local Affairs in the Hajarah Area
[Seal of the Council of Dignitaries of the Hajarah Area]
[Seal of Mukhtar Mahsanah Hajarah, Ministry of Local Administration]

Description

Short agreement providing for a cessation of hostilities on individuals, homes, or property; that transgressors are not protected socially and are individually responsible for their actions; forming a committee to monitor implementation.

Agreement document

LY_180513_Tebu Awlad Sulayman Agreement in Sabha_EN.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF

Agreement document (original language)

LY_180513_Tebu Awlad Sulayman Agreement in Sabha_AR.pdf (opens in new tab)| Download PDF

Local agreement properties

Process type

Informal but persistent process

Rationale

-> Link to national level; no external support mechanism; culture of signing Although the agreement was not supported by a formal and national mechanism, the agreement is embedded in a culture of signing (and supporting) agreements to end the crisis in Sabha (calls for a ceasefire were initiated in April 2018).

Is there a documented link to a national peace process?

Yes

Link to national process: articulated rationale

The agreement is not clearly linked to the national peace process. Yet, it was signed by local state leaders from municipalities ostensibly on different sides of the conflict.

Name of Locale

Hajarah

Nature of Locale

Smaller

GPS Lat/Long (DD)

27.031144, 14.465593

Participant type

Local state actor
Domestic religious organisation/leader or other elder

Mediator, facilitator or similar

No mention of mediator or similar

Local issues

Ritual/prayer and process (including use of scripture)

Page 1, “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.”

Page 1, Based on what Allah said in his holy book in the verse above, and to achieve social peace,

Grievance List

Although the agreement does not refer to specific causes of the conflict, it seems that it addresses the local grievances that arose from the confrontation between the Tebu and Awlad Sulayman in the area of Hajarah.

Cattle rustling/banditry

No specific mention.

Social cover

Page 1, No cover-up or protection of any individual who commits an immoral or illegal act or violates
the customs, traditions, or public morals

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.

Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.”

Agreement for Peaceful Coexistence

Based on what Allah said in his holy book in the verse above, and to achieve social peace,

From among the good people of the area of Hajarah, from both the Tebu and Awlad Sulayman, members of the two groups have called for an agreement of peaceful coexistence and good-neighborliness to be signed between these two groups, as follows:

- Mutual respect between the two groups

- No attacks on individuals, no violation of the sanctity of homes, and no attacks on personal property

- No cover-up or protection of any individual who commits an immoral or illegal act or violates the customs, traditions, or public morals

- Any person who carries out an attack from either side is solely responsible for their actions

- Criminals belong to no tribe, so they must be treated based on their crimes, not affiliations, and tribal problems must not be brought into our residential areas

- Forming a committee, made up of members from both sides, to monitor the implementation of this agreement

- The agreement is open to all of the components of the area of Hajarah that want to join it

Signed,

From the Tebu

Name Signature

1) Al Hajj Muhammad Sidi Lazlah [Signed]

2) Al Hajj Ali Sidi Kasrah [Signed]

3) Shuha Adam Shika [Signed]

4) Saleh Lamda Musa [Signed]

From the Awlad Sulayman

Name Signature

1) Muhammad Ali Ibrahim [Signed]

2) Omar Ahmad Muhammad [Signed]

3) Milyur Masoud Khalifah [Signed]

4) Mabrook Abdullah Masoud [Signed]

Written in Hajarah in Sabha

On Wednesday, / /

Certified by Local Affairs in the Hajarah Area

[Signed, 13/5/2018]

[Seal of the Council of Dignitaries of the Hajarah Area]

[Seal of Mukhtar Mahsanah Hajarah, Ministry of Local Administration]