Sudanese army dismisses participation in Libya’s conflict

December 27, 2019 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese military spokesman Amer Mohamed al-Hassan Friday denied any connection between the Sudanese army and Sudanese mercenary groups in Libya.

“Mercenaries do not have a specific country. It has become a profession, he said in a televised statement, on Friday.

“The whole matter does not concern the armed forces, nor the Sudanese government, in anything,” he stressed.

Al-Hassan called on the Libyan parties to determine the nationalities of these mercenaries and the regions from which they came, noting that only the Libyan authorities can explain that.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Thursday said he will send troops to Libya in support of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), pointing to the presence of foreign fighters in the country.

“Russia is there with 2,000 (fighters from the private military firm),” Wagner Erdogan told the meeting, also he referred to over 3,000 Sudanese fighters in Libya. “Is the official government inviting them? No.”

UN panel on Libya said earlier this year that fighters from the government paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been dispatched by the Sudanese transitional government. But Sudanese officials strongly dismissed the claim.

Another panel on Darfur had made a detailed report about the involvement of armed groups from the Darfur region in the civil war in Libya alongside the different parties.

The Darfur panel is expected to release a new report next January with more details about the participation of Sudanese groups in the Libyan conflict.

(ST)