Qadhadhfa

The Guededfa (Arabic القذاذفة also: al- Gaddadfa, Gaddafa or Kadhafa ) are a Libyan tribe of nomadic Arabs originally or Arabized Berbers. It has approximately 170,000 members of one of the smaller tribes in Libya. Originally immigrated from Morocco in the Sirte region, the main settlement area is now the desert of Fezzan and there especially the region of Sabha.

Influence

The Guededfa are known mainly by the fact that the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was a member of the tribe, as well as the role that members of the tribe in the overthrow of Gaddafi's predecessor, King Idris played in 1969. But Wanis al - Qaddhafi, the last royal prime minister, who was also overthrown by the coup, came from the Guededfa.

The Guededfa form the actual power base Gaddafi in Libya, which is still practiced in place Sabha by Massoud Abdelhafid, the governor of the region, former commander of the Libyan expeditionary forces in Chad and Gaddafi 's cousin.

The Guededfa were privileged by Gaddafi, occupied numerous leadership positions in Libya and benefit greatly from the Saharan trade, particularly with Niger. In this trade living in the border area of Libya, Niger and Chad Tubu serve as a mediator. Here subsidized food exports from Libya and female dromedaries, American cigarettes from Cotonou in Benin and illegal immigrants imported. The resulting income is substantial: Each loaded with cigarettes truck ( about a dozen per week) brings about € 165,000 profit and every illegal immigrant ( about 5000 per month) will pay € 110 for the trip to Tripoli.

It was the policy Gaddafi to reduce equipment and payment of the regular army strong and sure to invest resources in the directly controlled by him " Revolutionary Guards ". These include the Libyan Revolutionary Guard, whose members are exclusively Guededfa.

Arab Spring

On 27 April 2011, published in Paris by Bernard -Henri Lévy, a statement of use to leaders or representatives of 61 tribes, including the Guededfa strain for a unified, democratic Libya without Gaddafi. Levy noted that although there are some groups in conflicts on the subject admit that fundamental attitude is however incorrect.