Tribal leaders, militia commanders declare semi-autonomous region in East Libya

Tribal leaders and militia commanders declared a semi-autonomous region in oil-rich eastern Libya on Tuesday, a move opponents fear will be the first step towards outright dividing the country six months after the fall of Moammar Gadhafi.         

Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC), the interim central government based in the capital Tripoli, has repeatedly voiced its opposition to the creation of the region of Cyrenaica (or Barqa as it was called in Arabic when it was the eastern section of a tripartite state system before Gadhafi took power), warning it could eventually lead to the break-up of the North African nation.      

They vowed to end decades of marginalization under Gadhafi and named a council to run the affairs of the newly-created region, extending from the central coastal city of Sirte to the Egyptian border in the east.        

The gathering, in the eastern city of Benghazi, appointed Ahmed al-Zubair, Libya's longest serving political prisoner under Gadhafi, as leader of its governing council.      

Al-Zubair, who is also a member of the NTC, pledged to protect the rights of the region, but also said his council recognizes the NTC as the body that officiates over Libya's international affairs.        
Moreover, al-Zubair is a descendant of the former Libyan King Idris whom Gadhafi ousted in the 1969 coup.        

The newly-formed council insisted that the move is not intended to divide the country and that they want their state to be part of a united Libya.        

APTN