The largest Libyan city of Sebha in the south is moving ahead into quietness and stability while negotiations are under way between tribal leaders to settle differences peacefully.

A company commander from Zintan forces which rushed to the southern part of Libya to help end the conflict between Libyans in the south told a popular and knowingly credible Zintan Facebook site that the situation was stable and secure in Sebha and the surrounding areas.

Ubari and Awainat cities located west of Sebha are also quiet and peaceful, according to the commander on Wednesday.

Libyan government spokesman Nasser al-Manaa confirmed this account and said on Wednesday evening at a press conference that over 50 people were killed in a three-day conflict.

Conflicting groups are now being separated, according to the commander from Zintan who said armed people from Tibu were stationed at an area called Tayari and another group was stationed near Traghen Road.

The commander from Zintan said Libyan southwestern borders with Chad and Niger were secure while Zintan and Tuwargh members in the south are coordinating the security of these borders, the commander added.

He said Libyan revolutionaries from Zintan, Zawia, Rujban and Guntrar along with others from Benghazi were helping the local inhabitants of the city get back to normal life as negotiations are moving ahead between the conflicting parties.

Al-Manaa said at a press conference in Tripoli "the national army and a committee of elders have entered the town in a bid to secure a truce."

He also said there is a number of wounded individuals in hospitals as a result of the fighting that erupted on Monday and that some of the wounded have already been flown to Tripoli.

What happened in the last two days was an act of individuals from two tribes in the city of Sebha that led to so many causalities, the commander said.

He said the events in the Sebha brought national unity to the south and among Libyan rebels who fought the dead dictator. He said “for the first time we have seen the real revolutionaries move quickly to bring an end to a dispute that could have caused more conflict.”

The commander from Zintan also criticised the government for failing to interfere on time. And said Libyans would not accept any attempts that may cause instability or lead to separation in the country.

A Tibu leader, Issa Abdel Majid Mansur, who for years caused unrest and tension in southern Libya told AFP on Wednesday that he was reactivating a Tibu front in the area.

"We announce the reactivation of the Tibu Front for the Salvation of Libya (TFSL, an opposition group active under the former regime) to protect the Tibu people from ethnic cleansing," Mansur said.

"If necessary, we will demand international intervention and work towards the creation of a state, as in South Sudan," he said.

Ali al-Dib, a former rebel, said the clashes erupted in the city centre when the Tibu refused to hand over to local authorities one of their men accused of killing a member of the Bussif tribe.

Mousa al-Koni, a Tibu representative on the NTC, told Reuters by phone on Tuesday from Tunis that the clashes had escalated after Tibu former fighters tried to steal a car from a member of the Sabha militia. He said a reconciliation committee was being formed to help stop the violence.