"Some Arab nations, unfortunately, are funding strife in Libya!"

"Tribal leaders and militia commanders declared a semiautonomous region in oil-rich eastern Libya on Tuesday, a unilateral move that opponents fear will be the first step toward outright dividing the country six months after the fall of Moammar Gadhafi.........  Barqa would cover nearly half the country, from central Libya to the Egyptian border in the east and down to the borders with Chad and Sudan in the south....... 

Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, head of the Tripoli-based interim central government known as the National Transitional Council, warned the declaration "leads to danger" of eventually breaking up the North African nation of 6 million.

"Some Arab nations, unfortunately, have supported and encouraged this to happen," he said, without naming any countries. "These nations are funding this kind of unacceptable strife," he added at a news conference in Tripoli. "What happened today is the beginning (Just the beginning?) of a conspiracy against Libya and Libyans. "

Asked by The Associated Press, Abdul-Jalil's office refused to specify which Arab nations were allegedly supporting division in Libya.

The interim leader has not in the past blamed any Arab nation for meddling, while praising Gulf nations like Qatar, which was supportive of the rebels fighting Gadhafi.