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Libyan premier accepts Sudanese plan for peace talks in his country

October 28, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government has launched a plan to resolve the ongoing crisis in Libya with the participation of the neighbouring countries, expressing readiness to work towards achieving national reconciliation in the strife-torn North African nation.

Libya's internationally recognised prime minister Abdullah al-Thani (C) walks with Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir (L) upon his arrival at Khartoum international airport on 27 October 2014 (Photo: AFP/Ashraf Shazly)
Libya’s internationally recognised prime minister Abdullah al-Thani (C) walks with Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir (L) upon his arrival at Khartoum international airport on 27 October 2014 (Photo: AFP/Ashraf Shazly)
Libya’s internationally recognised premier Abdullah al-Thani arrived in Khartoum on Monday evening for a three-day visit, after accusations that Sudan provided weapons to rival groups controlling Tripoli and central Libya but unrecognised by the international community.

In September, Thani’s government said Sudan was arming “terror” groups after an arms-laden Sudanese plane touched down in southern Libya, allegedly bound for a military airbase in Tripoli held by mostly Islamist militias who seized the capital in August.

But Sudan has vehemently denied accusations of backing any side in the Libyan conflict, saying the weapons were shipped for the use of a joint force between the two countries. Also, Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir invited Thani for talks to clear this misunderstanding.

On Tuesday, the visiting premier minister met with the al-Bashir and other senior officials including defence minister Abdel-Rahim Hussein.

The Sudanese foreign minister, Ali Karti, said that al-Thani accepted the plan presented by Bashir to bring different Libyan groups together for talks on ending the conflict, pointing to agreement among Libya’s neighbours to bring warring parties to negotiations table and achieve reconciliation.

Karti, who spoke to reporters following the meeting with Bashir, gave no further details of the plan, saying it would be discussed with ministers at the next neighbouring countries of Libya meeting in the Sudanese capital.

He said that they discussed various issues, pointing the two sides denied media reports that Sudan has a passive stance towards the current Libyan government.

The Libyan foreign minister Mohamed al-Dairi struck a conciliatory stance after the meeting, expressing appreciation for the support rendered by Sudan during the 2011 revolution.

He said Libya and Sudan had a “relationship of military cooperation, like the one we have with Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and the Emirates, and Sudan is helping us in capacity building and training Libyan army officers”.

Al-Dairi added the Libyan prime minister emphasised to Bashir that he seeks to achieve a political solution and close the page of differences between the two countries, disclosing that international bodies, which he did not name, sought to tarnish Sudan’s relations with Libya.

He stressed that Libya looks forward to strengthening ties between the two governments and peoples, saying they seek to promote investment and military cooperation with Sudan.

UNIFIED LIBYAN ARMY

The Sudanese defence minister, Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, for his part, stressed that his country supports establishment of a unified Libyan army, pointing that Libyans are best able to tackle their own issues.

In press statements following his meeting with the Libyan prime minister, Hussein renewed Sudan’s rejection to any military intervention which would further complicates the situation in Libya, stressing keenness to continued cooperation with the Libyan army.

He pointed that the Libyan prime minister will attend on Wednesday the graduation ceremony of several Libyan officers from the Sudanese military academy within the framework of the military cooperation agreement signed between the two countries.

Libya has been plagued by political infighting, with government and parliament unable to control militias that have continued to defy state authority since ousting Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

It is widely viewed that Qatar, Turkey and Sudan are backing Islamist militias while countries like Egypt and United Arab Emirates (UAE) are backing Heftar.

Last August, the United States said that UAE and Egypt secretly bombed Islamist groups in Libya.

On Monday, the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper quoted the Libyan General Chief of Staff, Abdel-Razaq al-Nazouri, as saying that Sudanese officers are training a group of militiamen from Musrata on helicopters.

He said the number of the foreign fighters in Libya is estimated at 6.000, stressing that the Muslim Brotherhood is leading groups of Islamic extremists and fugitives in the fight against the army.

(ST)

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