Sudan summons Libya’s military attaché over support for Darfur rebels

August 11, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on Tuesday summoned the Libyan military attaché in Khartoum to protest against what it claimed is his government’s harboring of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement/ Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM).

SAF spokesperson, Colonel al-Sawarmi Khalid Sa’ad, told the official news agency (SUNA) on Tuesday that the participation of SLM-MM fighters in the Libyan conflict alongside the forces of the retired General Khalifa Haftar poses real threat to Sudan’s national security particularly in Darfur.

He added that it also undermines regional security on the joint Sudanese-Libyan borders.

“The participation [of the SLM-MM in the Libyan conflict] encourages rebel groups to destabilize security of the citizens through forced recruitment and looting”, he added.

Sa’ad pointed that SAF summoned the Libyan military attaché to protest against his government’s move because SLM-MM is considered an armed rebel group that carries out hostile actions inside Sudan’s territory.

He underscored that harbouring and supporting rebel groups by the Libyan government in Tobruk represents a blatant intervention in Sudan’s internal affairs.

Earlier this month SAF announced that Libya has withdrawn its troops from the joint border patrol forces between the two countries which led to deterioration of the security situation along the borders.

Since August 2014, Libya has two governments and parliaments since Tripoli was seized in a coalition of Islamist groups while the internationally recognized government is based in Tobruk. Qatar, Sudan and Turkey are accused of supporting this alliance.

(ST)