Scarred by war but home at last, two Libyan families pray for peace

  • 10/29/2020
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TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Libya’s warring armies have agreed a ceasefire and, years after being forced to flee for their lives, the Bouzids and the Alis are finally back at home.Like many on opposite sides of the front lines, the two families have lost loved ones and seen their livelihoods and dreams destroyed by nearly a decade of conflict. But while daunting obstacles still stand in the way of a lasting political settlement, the Bouzids are slowly repairing their own small corner of the country, the ransacked south Tripoli farm they returned to after fighting in the area ended in June. “Dad, Mum and I would sit in the middle of the day and drink tea and enjoy the view of our crops. But then the war came and we fled,” said Mohammed Bouzid, 45. “After we returned, there was nothing left.” To the east in Benghazi, the Alis had to leave their Misrata Street neighbourhood when fighting engulfed Libya’s second biggest city in 2014. They returned in 2018, so desperate to get home that they ignored official warnings about landmines and unexploded bombs.

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