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Sudan Tribune

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Libya bars Sudanese nationals amid terror concerns

January 5, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The internationally-recognised Libyan government announced on Monday a ban on the entry of citizens from Sudan, Syria and Palestine.

Fighters from the Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) militia hold their positions during clashes with forces loyal to Libya's internationally recognised government near the Wetia military air base, west of the capital Tripoli, on 29 December 2014 (Photo: AFP/Mahmud Turkia)
Fighters from the Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) militia hold their positions during clashes with forces loyal to Libya’s internationally recognised government near the Wetia military air base, west of the capital Tripoli, on 29 December 2014 (Photo: AFP/Mahmud Turkia)
Libya’s interior minister Omar al-Sanki attributed the decision to Intel suggesting that citizens from these countries are flocking in to join “terrorist groups” fighting the Libyan army in Benghazi and other cities in the western part of the country.

Furthermore, citizens from Malta will now require prior clearance from Libya’s interior ministry to gain entry in light of information that some Maltese provided logistical support to Islamist “Dawn of Libya” militias which are now in control of Tripoli.

The order will remain in effect until further order, the Interior ministry said.

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.

Libya’s internationally recognized government has persistently accused Sudan of providing weapons to Islamist militias in collaboration with Qatar.

Last September, Libyan 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.

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.

Tripoli warned that it might sever ties with Khartoum and Doha over their alleged interference.

On Sunday, a minister in the Libyan government told London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that information obtained Libyan military intelligence indicated that Sudanese technicians had assisted pilots from the Libyan Dawn group in commandeering a plane that struck oil tanks in the Sidra port during the past week.

The attack launched on Libya’s largest oil terminal saw militants fire rockets from speedboats, setting alight huge oil tanks and causing Libya’s oil production to plunge by two-thirds, to 350,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to the state oil company.

(ST)

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