Deaths in Libya tribal clashes reach 147

TRIPOLI, Libya -- Six days of tribal clashes in a remote desert town in southern Libya have killed 147 people, the country's health minister said Saturday.

Fatma al-Hamroush said at a news conference in Tripoli that the fighting in Sabha had also left 395 wounded. About 180 people have been taken to the capital Tripoli for emergency treatment, she said.

The clashes in the oasis region about 400 miles south of Tripoli show the fragile authority of the Libyan government, particularly in the isolated settlements that dot the southern desert.

With only a nascent national army and police force, Libya's ruling National Transitional Council relies on militias composed of former rebels to keep the peace, and the country's vast distances makes it difficult to deploy them to trouble spots.

Deposed dictator Moammar Gadhafi's 40 years in power moreover left behind a patchwork of local rivalries. The Sabha fighting pits southern Libyan Arab tribes that reportedly had close connections to Gadhafi against the African Tabu tribe, which fought against him.

Residents of the oasis say that the rivalry burst into open conflict Monday after a Tabu shot a member of the Arab Abu Seif tribe, and then a delegation of Tabu elders and armed men going to participate in reconciliation talks was ambushed.

The Tabu and Arab tribes fought in another oasis region, Kufra, in February.

The government said it was trying to move relief supplies to Sabha. Health Minister al-Hamroush said that Tripoli had sent large amounts of emergency aid to the city, but that there was still an urgent need for medical supplies.

A UN team in Libya says they have also assisted with aid, including additional medical kits.