Initially, only small-arms fire was used in the clashes, but on the second day the situation escalated, with RPGs and anti-aircraft guns being used.

According to the Zuwayya, the fighting started when a young man from their tribe was killed three days before by three Tobu members.

The Tobu claimed discrimination by the Zuwayya, due to them being dark-skinned, on an even higher level than during the Gaddafi-era.

[11] Farhat Abdel Karim Bu Hareg, the coordinator of social affairs in the local Kufra government said that they would have to declare independence of the region if the NTC did not act against attacks by mercenaries, referring to Tobu fighters.

An NTC spokesman stated that it was a low-level fight between revolutionaries and weapons smugglers backed by foreign elements.

A Tobu member claimed five of his comrades were killed in the new round of fighting, while another stated that there were no deaths, only injuries.

[16] On 21 February, a Red crescent worker reported that 50 civilians were killed in the past 24 hours in Kufra due to mortar and rockets being fired on residential area.

[8] NTC leader Abdul Jalil said that Gaddafi loyalists were seeding sedition in Kufra but did not elaborate.

Georg Charpentier, an UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Libya and chief of UNSMIL mission, confirmed that a ceasefire between the tribes was holding with the Libyan army contingent in place to prevent further clashes.

Associated Press journalist on the ground also witnessed at least 160 houses demolished by rocket attacks in one neighbourhood alone with the shelling also hitting a school where civilians were seeking shelter.