A new accord has been struck for thousands of displaced Libyans to return home to a town that sided with former leader Muammar Qadhafi in the 2011 revolution, the country's unity government said Monday. Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the Government of National Accord, welcomed the reconciliation deal signed late Sunday by representatives of the pro-Qadhafi town of Tawergha and nearby Misrata, 240 kilometres (145 miles) southeast of the Libyan capital Tripoli.
"The return of the inhabitants of Tawergha to their town will mark the start of the return of all Libya's displaced and exiles inside and outside the country," Sarraj said on the GNA's Facebook page.
The 35,000 residents of Tawergha, a town which sided with Qadhafi right up to his fall, were evicted after his overthrow and have since been kept in camps on the outskirts of Tripoli or scattered across Libya. Living in wretched conditions, they have been the frequent target of attacks by militiamen, especially from Misrata - a city that lost hundreds of lives in the revolt against Qadhafi.