A senior Libyan rebel leader told local officials and residents in Misrata on Monday that he would stay out of their bloody feud with neighboring Tawergha, a loyalist town that served as staging ground for the devastating siege of the rebel-controlled city by Col. Moammar Gadhafi's troops this year.

That conflict illustrates a struggle for the National Transitional Council as rebels battle remaining regime holdout areas in the interior and south: how to reconcile the hatred between rebels and loyalists that bred during more than six months of fighting and dredged up old tribal feuds.

Tawergha, which rebels seized last month, now stands on the front line of this struggle. It also serves as a cautionary tale of what awaits Libya if the sort of victors' justice Tawergha has endured for weeks is repeated as rebels move into other pro-Gadhafi cities. It could turn whole tribes and regions into disaffected swaths of society, fueling violence and instability.

Many Western countries backing Libya's rebels have sought commitments from their senior political leaders that they would promote reconciliation and stem reprisals against regime loyalists to avert the vengeance that consumed Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. Since the capture of Tripoli last month, these Libyan leaders have pleaded for forgiveness and reconciliation, but there appears to be a limit to their authority, especially in the face of empowered and heavily armed local rebel factions.

"Regarding Tawergha, my own viewpoint is that nobody has the right to interfere in this matter except the people of Misrata," said Mahmoud Jibril, the NTC's prime minister and one of the chief interlocutors with U.S. and European leaders, during Monday's town hall meeting. "This matter can't be tackled through theories and textbook examples of national reconciliation like those in South Africa, Ireland and Eastern Europe," he added as the crowd cheered with chants of "Allahu Akbar," or "God is greatest."