Tribal leaders persuade armed group to restore Libya's water supply system

TRIPOLI, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Tribal leaders in southern Libya have persuaded an armed group to restore Libya's water supply a week after the group stopped it in order to pressure the authorities to release its detained leader, a local official said Thursday.

"A number of tribal elders and leaders of southern Libya managed to persuade the gunmen, who demand the release of a detained leader from a prison in Tripoli, to restore water supply after nearly a week of closure," a member of the municipality council of the southern Shwerif town told Xinhua.

"The elders told the armed group that western cities, including the capital Tripoli, are in total paralysis because of the lack of water supply, and that the fate of more than 2 million people is threatened by this unacceptable closure," the member said on condition of anonymity.

Last week, the armed group threatened to destroy Libya's water supply system unless one of its leaders detained in the capital Tripoli is released.

The group cut the water supply of the country earlier in October, demanding the release of Mabrouk Ehnesh, who was captured by Tripoli's Special Anti-Terrorism Force for his involvement in a plot to take over the city.

Libya has been suffering from political division and unrest following the uprising of 2011 that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime. Enditem