The Libyan government accused Sudan this week of providing military support to Operation Libya Dawn forces in the capital. The accusations arose after a Sudanese plane that had stopped at Kufra airport to refuel was searched and found to be carrying ammunition. The government charged that the plane was intending to travel on to Mitiga airport in Tripoli that is controlled by Islamist forces. Sudan denied the charges, insisting instead that it was simply supplying the joint Libyan-Sudanese force that patrols the countries’ joint border.
However, the government was not convinced and moved to expel Sudan’s military attaché and to accuse Khartoum of violating Libya’s sovereignty. The government’s suspicions were heightened after it emerged that the head of the Congress, Nuri Abu Sahmain, had made a visit to Khartoum earlier this week where he had met with Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir.
Although the veracity of the reports of Sudan’s supplying Operation Libya Dawn forces cannot be confirmed, Sudan’s preference for an Islamist-dominated government is clear, as is its resistance to any kind of regional intervention that might be being mulled over by Egypt and other regional players including Chad and Niger.