---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 10:53 AM Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] Fw: Khartoum cooperates "quietly" with Libya no-fly zone To: Group <[email protected]>
1. Sudan allows use of its airspace for enforcement of No-Fly Zone over Libya: diplomats March 23, 2011 (WASHINGTON) – The Sudanese government has been quietly cooperating with an international coalition enforcing the No-Fly Zone (NFZ) over neighboring Libya, diplomats at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) told Reuters. "Sudan has given permission to use its airspace," a diplomat said this week. Another diplomat confirmed it, adding Sudan was not alone. This month and after much political wrangling, the UNSC adopted resolution 1973 which establishes a NFZ over Libya and authorizes the use of "all necessary means" to protect civilians. This decision was made possible mainly by the Arab League which made a formal request on behalf of its member states for a NFZ. A popular uprising in Libya against leader Muammar Gaddafi started mid-February quickly turned into an armed rebellion where opposition, aided by military defectors, managed to overrun government forces in the East and control major cities in the East including Benghazi. Gaddafi’s forces reportedly unleashed its air force against the opposition in the cities they controlled resulting in large civilian casualties and injuries. Furthermore, eyewitnesses said that African mercenaries were utilized by the Libyan regime who are implementing a ’shoot-to-kill’ policy. The UNSC has already referred Libya to the International Criminal Court (ICC) whose chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is investigating Gaddafi, his sons and his inner circle for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. Western warplanes have flown more than 300 sorties over Libya and more than 162 Tomahawk cruise missiles have been fired in the United Nations-mandated mission. Qatar and United Arab Emirates have joined the coalition by sending aircrafts for enforcement of NFZ. But other Arab countries such as Egypt and Tunisia have refused to take part in the military operations amid raging suspicion in the region on the motives of the Western intervention. Libyan opposition however, has welcomed the airstrikes which saved it from a near-certain defeat at the hands of Gaddafi’s forces which besieged rebel controlled cities. The African Union (AU) has warned beforehand against military operations in Libya but despite this position Gabon, Nigeria and South Africa later voted in favor of the resolution at the UNSC. A poll by the Doha based Al-Jazeera TV website showed an overwhelming majority in favor of the NFZ. Sudan has initially resisted the draft resolution at the Arab League calling for a NFZ but later backed down. The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir has said this month that he opposes any foreign intervention in Libya "so that it does not turn into another Iraq". The UNSC resolution does not oblige countries to participate in implementing the NFZ or even grant permission for overflights. Sudan’s U.N. ambassador, Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, neither confirmed nor denied that Khartoum had granted permission to coalition air forces. "I cannot give you concrete information on this," he told Reuters, adding he did not believe "a final decision had been made" by his government. He did reiterate Sudan’s support for the Arab League call for a no-fly zone. Khartoum may not want its involvement made public for fear of alienating its Islamic base which is resentful of any association with the West particularly in the military arena even if they view the Gaddafi regime unfavorably. Reports of close cooperation between Sudan and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since 2001 in places like Somalia and Iraq has already drawn criticism among the government supporters. Diplomats said it was understandable that Khartoum was not flaunting its cooperation with the coalition forces, which will help improve its battered reputation with Washington, London and Paris. Khartoum is currently lobbying the United States to remove it from the state sponsors of terrorism list. Libya borders Sudan and its western region of Darfur in which conflict between the Sudanese government and ethnic rebels killed 300,000 people and displaced more than 2.7 million since it erupted in 2003, according to UN figures. Relations between the two countries have seen ups and downs particularly over the Darfur conflict. At one point Libya was accused by Sudan of aiding the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) attack on Libya in May 2008. However, it was Gaddafi that pushed the AU to grant Bashir immunity from arrest in the continent despite an arrest warrant against him issued by the ICC for his alleged role in Darfur war crimes. Libya is currently hosting JEM leader Ibrahim Khalil after being refused entry by the Chadian authorities last year where he was based. Sudan has sought without success to have Libya expel him. (ST) END1 2. Sudan allows overflights for Libya ops: diplomats Fri Mar 25, 2011 6:27am GMT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Sudan has quietly granted permission to use its airspace to nations enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya as U.S., French, British and other air forces try to pummel the Libyan military, envoys told Reuters. The United Nations has said nearly a dozen countries have notified Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon they would be involved in the Libya operations to protect civilians under siege in the North African state. Only two Arab countries are on that list, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. But U.N. diplomats familiar with the coalition operations over Libya said there were a number of countries quietly cooperating with the coalition to enable the no-fly zone to happen. One of those countries, they said, was Sudan. "Sudan has given permission to use its airspace," a diplomat told Reuters this week. Another diplomat confirmed it, adding Sudan was not alone. It was not immediately clear what other countries were allowing the coalition to pass through their airspace. The news of Sudan's participation comes as Western warplanes hit military targets deep inside Libya on Thursday but failed to prevent tanks re-entering the western town of Misrata and besieging its main hospital. The airstrikes are part of a U.N.-authorized military operation to prevent forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi from attacking civilians as he attempts to crush a rebellion in eastern Libya that has split the country in two. Sudan's U.N. ambassador, Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, neither confirmed nor denied that Khartoum had granted permission to coalition air forces. "I cannot give you concrete information on this," he told Reuters, adding he did not believe "a final decision had been made" by his government. He did reiterate Sudan's support for the Arab League call for a no-fly zone. FEAR OF REPRISALS Sudan is a member of the Arab League, which had pushed the U.N. Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya to halt aerial attacks by Gaddafi's forces against rebel-held areas. Diplomats said it was understandable that Khartoum was not flaunting its cooperation with the coalition forces, which will help improve its battered reputation with Washington, London and Paris. Khartoum is currently lobbying the United States to remove it from the state sponsors of terrorism list. Khartoum may also fear reprisals against Sudanese citizens in Libya by Gaddafi's security forces. There are at least 500,000 Sudanese nationals in Libya, mostly foreign workers and many from Sudan's western Darfur region, which borders Libya's east. There is little love between Gaddafi and Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who was indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and other war crimes in Darfur. Relations were strained between Libya and Sudan after Gaddafi agreed to offer refuge to Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement chief Khalil Ibrahim who had left peace talks in Qatar to return to fighting in Darfur. Last year, Libya promised to curb any Darfur rebel attacks. Gaddafi hosted and helped insurgents early in the Darfur conflict, which began in 2003 when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms accusing Khartoum of neglect. Sudan's counterinsurgency campaign drove more than 2 million Darfuris from their homes, sparking one of the world's worst humanitarian crises that the United Nations estimates has killed as many as 300,000 people. END2 3. Sudan denies preparations to setup US military base in eastern town March 22, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – A Sudanese official has dismissed as “vicious rumors” media reports on preparations by the United States to setup a military base in Ageeg, a minor port town in eastern Sudan in an effort to thwart arms-smuggling operations across the country’s porous eastern borders. Eastern Sudan is cited by as a major route for smuggling arms into Gaza strip which is under siege by Israel. This month it was reported that the Egyptian army destroyed seven vehicles carrying arms smuggled through eastern Sudan. In January 2009, Israel conducted an airstrike in eastern Sudan that destroyed a convoy that was believed to be carrying arms to Gaza, killing at least 20 people. The Sudan Media Center, a website closely linked to the country’s intelligence circles, quoted Ali Saeed Hamid Sukar the mayor of Ageeg locality, a minor port town located to the south of Sudan’s eastern Red Sea state, as saying that his locality was “devoid of any preparations to setup an American military base.” According to SMC, the report on preparations to build a US military base was contained in Wednesday’s edition of the London-based newspaper which reported that activists in eastern Sudan complained to local authorities against the construction of military bases in the area at a time when they were planning to turn the little port town of Ageed into a major sea port. But according to Ageeg mayor, the construction work being observed in Ageeg was an attempt to “renovate” barracks of the Sudanese maritime forces in the area. The Sudanese official said that such reports were “merely vicious rumors propagated by opposition groups in a desperate attempt to torpedo stability in the [Red Sea] state.” The US along with Israel and Egypt are trying to prevent arms from reaching Gaza strip which is controlled by Hamas Islamic movement. (ST) END3 ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan Advisor Sudan Ecumenical Forum [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +249 919 695 362 (Sudan mobile) +27 82 853 3556 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. 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