Libyan tribe threatens to declare separate state

TRIPOLI, Libya – A Libyan tribe is threatening to declare a separate state in Libya's south after days of bloody battles.

The threats are the latest sign of chaos in Libya after the fall of longtime ruler Muammar Qaddafi last year.

Fighting between Tabu and the Arab Abu Seif tribe has left scores dead in the southern city of Sabha.

Tabu leaders said that they would declare their own state to protect their people. The Tabu, along with other African tribes, are the original inhabitants of south Libya.

Eissa Abdul-Maged, a Tabu leader, said Wednesday his tribe is subjected to "genocide," but the Libyan government in Tripoli has not intervened.

A Paris-based Tabu leader, Jomode Elie Getty, accused the NTC of siding with Arabs in attacks on Tabu. He called for U.N intervention.