Libya says Sudanese war plane loaded with ammunition for Tripoli enters its
airspace
Sat Sep 6, 2014 10:32pm GMT
(Adds Sudan reaction, details, background)
By Ahmed Elumami and Feras Bosalum
BENGHAZI, Libya, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Libya said a Sudanese military transport
plane bound for a Tripoli airport under control of an armed faction had
entered its airspace to supply a "terrorist group" with ammunition, a
government statement said on Saturday.
Sudan confirmed it had sent a military plane but said it had only carried
equipment for a joint Libyan-Sudanese state border force.
Libya is in turmoil three years after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi as
armed groups, partly linked to Islamists, have seized the capital Tripoli
and set up an alternative parliament and government.
"This work from the Sudanese state violates (the sovereignty) of the State
of Libya and interferes with its affairs," the Libyan statement said, adding
that Libya had asked the Sudanese military attache to leave the country.
"Sudan is interfering by supporting a terrorist group," it added.
Libya said the Sudanese plane had been bound for Tripoli-Matiga airport and
made a refuelling stop in the Libyan desert oasis Kufra near the border to
Sudan. Ammunition had been found loaded on that plane during an inspection
at Kufra airport, it added, without saying whether the plane was still in
Kufra.
Matiga is a military airport now used mainly for commercial flights after
Tripoli's main international airport was damaged by fighting between rival
armed groups. Matiga is under control of an alliance of factions challenging
the government which has relocated to Tobruk in the far east to escape the
violence.
"We, the Libyan government, firmly denounce that a Sudanese military plane
has penetrated the Libyan airspace without an official permit from the
Libyan government. The plane was carrying ammunition which had not been
officially approved by the Libyan government," the statement said.
But Sudan, led by an Islamist government, described the incident as
misunderstanding, saying the plane had carried equipment for a joint
Sudanese-Libyan border force to tackle smuggling and human trafficking.
"The plane did not carry any material for armed groups in Libya," Sudan's
army spokesman al-Sawarmi Khalid told the local TV channel Shouruq. The
Sudanese army was not interfering in Libya, adding that Libyans were able to
overcome the current crisis without any outside intervention, it said.
Gaddafi used to fund and supply rebels in the western Sudanese region of
Darfur but bilateral relations have improved much since his overthrow.
Sudan, like other neighbours, has trained Libyan soldiers and officers as
part of international efforts to build up an army and police force. Khartoum
also participates in conferences of Libya's neighbours discussing support to
stabilise the oil producer.
South Sudan has accused its arch-rival Sudan in the past of arming rebels
operating on its territory, a claim denied by Khartoum which has accused
Juba of supporting Sudanese rebels with weapons. (Reporting by Ahmed
Elumami, Feras Bosalum and Ali Abdelati, Shadi Busra, Michael Georgy and
Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Sandra Maler and Lisa
Shumaker)