{"id":432085,"date":"2011-05-29T16:55:25","date_gmt":"2011-05-29T16:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/"},"modified":"2011-05-29T16:55:25","modified_gmt":"2011-05-29T16:55:25","slug":"libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/","title":{"rendered":"Libyan tribal leaders call for united front"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

More than 100 community and tribal leaders from Libya have met with\u00a0members of the opposition\u00a0National Transitional Council at a conference in Turkey, in a bid to show a united front against Muammar Gaddafi.<\/p>\n

Most of the tribal leaders\u00a0who gathered in Istanbul on Saturday and Sunday, were from the powerful Warfalla clan based in Baniwalid, a city in western Libya.<\/p>\n

The delegates were calling for an end to the violence in Libya and the departure of Libyan leader Gaddafi and his sons.<\/p>\n

An organiser of the conference told Al Jazeera that Gaddafi and his forces became aware of the conference yesterday and then moved in to seize control of Baniwalid.<\/p>\n

“Fierce clashes broke out between Gaddafi’s forces and Warfalla members in Baniwalid, and at least 11 people died<\/a>, including the brother of a conference delegate,” the source said.<\/p>\n

Al Jazeera’s Anita McNaught, reporting from Istanbul, said that the delegates were mostly senior professionals from both inside Libya as well as those\u00a0who have\u00a0been in exile for the last few years.<\/p>\n

“They all stood up together and presented their declaration and sang the old Libyan national anthem – I watched grown men break down in tears and sob all their way through this,” our correspondent said.<\/p>\n

Strategic importance<\/strong><\/p>\n

Baniwalid is said to hold a position of vital strategic importance, and was thus being aggressively targeted by Gaddafi, who has focused his security forces there to instill fear.<\/p>\n

“Warfalla is the largest tribe – over one-sixth of the total population of Libya, numbering more than a million members,” our correspondent said.<\/p>\n

“They are a tribe whose loyalty has been vigorously, and perhaps violently, sought after by Gaddafi and his forces. He has threatened, bribed, jailed and now attacked them.”<\/p>\n

Our correspondent said the attacks occurred because\u00a0Gaddafi and his supporters did not want to see this meeting “happen in Turkey where people can speak freely”.<\/p>\n

In the final statement of the conference, the delegates called on their “brothers in Zletin, Tarhuna, Khums, Msellata and Sirte to join the revolution and to put a swift end to this tyranny”.<\/p>\n

“We caution all other groups who are still fighting for this regime that continues day in day out to violate all forms of human rights, and we warn everyone involved\u00a0 that they will be accountable for their actions,” the statement said.<\/p>\n

Clear stance<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the end of the conference, our correspondent\u00a0reported that the delegates said to Gaddafi: “Do not leave Libya because we want to bring you to justice, we will have you tried for the 42 years that you have enslaved us.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/tr>\n\n
\n

Al Jazeera’s Tony Birtley reports from the frontlines near the city of Misurata where fighting is ongoing<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The meeting has been billed as\u00a0a possible game-changer for the Gaddafi government as the Warfalla are said to have been supporting Gaddafi militarily, especially around the western city of Misurata.<\/p>\n

Their position has not been clear throughout the conflict<\/a> in Libya, but this meeting seems to have shed some light on their position.<\/p>\n

In their statement, the delegates addressed their “families in our beloved Baniwalid” asking them not to “create rift between you and your fellow Libyans”.<\/p>\n

“The National Transitional Council (NTC) is a keeper of the safety and security for our great nation during the transitional period,” their statement said, “after the fall of this brutal dictatorship, and encompasses several members of our great city.”<\/p>\n

Led by Mustafa Abdul Jalil, who won the respect of the opposition for criticising Gaddafi while he was the justice minister, the NTC is Libya’s only interlocutor with the West, led by France, Britain and the US.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

More here:
\nLibyan tribal leaders call for united front<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 100 community and tribal leaders from Libya have met with\u00a0members of the opposition\u00a0National Transitional Council at a conference in Turkey, in a bid to show a united front against Muammar Gaddafi. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":402809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-432085","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-local-news"},"yoast_head":"\nLibyan tribal leaders call for united front - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Libyan tribal leaders call for united front - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"More than 100 community and tribal leaders from Libya have met with\u00a0members of the opposition\u00a0National Transitional Council at a conference in Turkey, in a bid to show a united front against Muammar Gaddafi.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Libyan tribal leaders call for united front\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-05-29T16:55:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/\"},\"wordCount\":621,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"articleSection\":[\"Local News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/\",\"name\":\"Libyan tribal leaders call for united front - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-05-29T16:55:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Libyan tribal leaders call for united front - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Libyan tribal leaders call for united front - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"More than 100 community and tribal leaders from Libya have met with\u00a0members of the opposition\u00a0National Transitional Council at a conference in Turkey, in a bid to show a united front against Muammar Gaddafi.","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Libyan tribal leaders call for united front","datePublished":"2011-05-29T16:55:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/"},"wordCount":621,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","articleSection":["Local News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/","name":"Libyan tribal leaders call for united front - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2011-05-29T16:55:25+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/29\/libyan-tribal-leaders-call-for-united-front\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}