20 dead, 50 injured as monkey sparks clash among rival tribes in Libya

The cause of the fighting was unclear, but Libyan and social media said it erupted after a monkey belonging to one tribe attacked a child from the other camp.

Activists and medics say tribal clashes erupted in southern Libya after three young men turned a pet monkey loose on a high school girl.

A baby monkey resting in its mother's lap in Georgia. (AP File Photo/ Representative image)

The girl’s family sought revenge after the monkey scratched and bit her last week, and killed all three men along with the animal.

Bader al-Daheli, a civil activist, told The Associated Press on Sunday that the two main tribes in the southern city of Sabha, Awlad Suleiman and Gadhadhfa, are each backed by a set of armed groups. Abdel-Rahman Areish, the head of Sabha hospital, says 20 people have been killed and 50 wounded.

Libya slid into chaos after the 2011 ouster and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Much of the country is effectively ruled by a patchwork of local or tribal militias.