20 dead as Libya tribes clash 'after monkey incident'

More than 20 people were killed in fighting this week between rival tribes in southern Libya, a medical official said Sunday, in violence reportedly sparked by an incident involving a monkey.

Witnesses said several homes were hit by rockets and shells in the confrontation.

Nasser al-Jehimi of the medical centre in Sebha said 21 people were killed and around 100 others injured in clashes since on Tuesday in the city between Awled Suleiman tribal members and the Guedadfa tribe of Libya's toppled dictator Moammar Gaddafi.

The casualty toll was for the Awed Suleiman tribe alone as information was not immediately available from another hospital being used for their rivals.