Sources hint at “silent” crisis between Sudan, Libya

By Sudanese opposition Democratic Unionist Party web site

KHARTOUM, Jan 23, 2004 — A Sudanese delegation arrived in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, the day before yesterday.

The delegation included the assistant to the president, Mubarak al-Fadil al-Mahdi, and the minister of internal affairs, Maj-Gen Eng Abd-al-Rahim Muhammad Husayn.

Sudanese official media sources said the delegation would deliver a message on bilateral ties, from President Hasan Al-Bashir to the Libyan leader, Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi.

However, well informed sources said the visit came after contacts between Egyptian mediators, to resolve the silent crisis between Sudan and Libya, after the Sudanese government accused Tripoli of supporting the rebel armed movement in Darfur.

The sources added that the reason for Al-Fadil heading the delegation, was due to his old and special relations with the Libyan leadership.

The sources explained that Sudan had given Egypt proofs confirming the existence of Libyan channels supporting the armed rebels in Darfur, as well as Libya allowing the flow of assistance from the SPLM [Sudan People’s Liberation Movement], to the armed groups in Darfur.

Official Sudanese media reported accusations by the Sudanese government against a “neighbouring country”, saying it supported the rebels.

However, they failed to mention the country’s name, while they did so in the case of Eritrea.

BBC Monitoring Middle East