Sudan to pay heavy price if Libya descends into chaos: Bashir
February 24, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president, Omer Hassan al-Bashir, said that his country will pay a heavy price if Libya descends into anarchy and underscored the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been infiltrated by parties hostile to Islam.
“Their acts are contrary to the most basic teachings of Islam,” he said.
“I have no doubt that these groups [ISIS] have been infiltrated by bodies hostile to Islam. They launched a smear campaign of cartoons to distort the image of Islam and what is happening to ISIS is inseparable of this campaign,” Bashir added
Bashir emphasised that his country recognises the Libyan government based in Tobruk.
He pointed that his government seeks to utilise its ties with the Islamic groups in Tripoli to achieve national reconciliation and stop the war in Libya.
“We are making efforts along with Libya’s neighbouring countries to make use of our relations to resolve the Libyan crisis. We do not take sides in the ongoing struggle in Libya, we are against the war and for the Libyan unity,” he added.
The Sudanese president further said that Libya is a large country where there is significant amount of weaponry and if it descends into chaos, Sudan will pay the price.
“Our brothers in Libya are living in extraordinary conditions. There is ongoing fighting in Libya and we are making efforts to stop that fighting”, he said.
Sudan has been accused of supporting Libya’s Islamist militias that are currently in control of Tripoli.
Last September, Libya’s internationally recognized Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni said Sudan had attempted to airlift weapons and ammunition to the new rulers in Tripoli.
Khartoum denied this, saying the weapons were meant for the joint border force.
Thinni’s main military partner, former army general Khalifa Heftar, has also accused Sudanese of having joined Ansar al-Shar’ia and other Islamist groups which are battling pro-government forces in the eastern city of Benghazi.
On the other hand the Tripoli government has accused Egypt and UAE of helping Heftar militarily. The US said last year that the two countries carried out air strikes on armed Islamist factions in Tripoli.
Meanwhile, Bashir said that he supports a political solution for the Syrian crisis that does not exclude president Bashar al-Assad, stressing there are too many parties interested in the continuation of the war in Syria.
“If Assad is not included in the solution, he will fight until the very end,” he said
(ST)