Sudan denies granting permission for military planes operating over Libya
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March 26, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan has not received any request by any
party to allow military planes in its airspace to enforce the No-Fly
Zone (NFZ) over Libya, foreign ministry spokesperson said today.
JPEG - 31.2 kb
A French Air Force pilot of a Mirage 2000 jet fighter, with a monkey
toy in his cockpit, prepares for a mission to Libya, at Solenzara 126
Air Base, on Corsica Island, Saturday, March 26, 2011 (AP)
Khalid Moussa spokesperson for the ministry said he is not aware of
such a request.
"Sudan received neither secret, not official request from the UN [to
grant this permission]," Moussa told Russian state-controlled news
agency RIA Novosti
"Sudan makes decisions proceeding from its national interests," he added.
Also the spokesman of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), Colonel Khalid
Sa’ad Al-Sawarmi told the pro-government Akhir-Lahza newspaper that he
has nothing to confirm these claims.
On Thursday diplomats at the United Nations told Reuters that Khartoum
has been quietly cooperating with a coalition of Western states that
are patrolling the skies in Libya pursuant to UN Security Council
resolution (UNSC) 1973 adopted earlier this month.
However, the decision does not oblige states to cooperate with the
enforcement of the NFZ and makes it optional. Algeria, Egypt and
Tunisia have reportedly declined to participate. Only Qatar and United
Arab Emirates (UAE) have publicly announced they dispatched fighter
jets to join the coalition dominated by Western countries.
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.
Sudan has endorsed an Arab League resolution calling on the UNSC to
establish a NFZ over Libya. The African Union (AU) however, in a
statement this month rejected any form of military intervention.
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.
A popular uprising in Libya against leader Muammar Gaddafi started
mid-February that quickly turned into an armed rebellion where
opposition managed to overrun government forces in the East and
control major cities including Benghazi.
Gaddafi’s forces reportedly unleashed its air force against the
opposition in the cities they controlled resulting in large civilian
death toll and injuries. Furthermore, eyewitnesses said that African
mercenaries were used by the Libyan regime who are implementing a
’shoot-to-kill’ policy.
Khartoum may not have 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) in places like Somalia and Iraq
has already drawn criticism among the government supporters.
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
of 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 International Criminal, Court (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)
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