Libyan commander accuses Sudan of supporting Islamist militias

A senior military official of the Libyan National Army reported that a convoy of vehicles loaded with militiamen crossed the Libyan-Sudanese border at El Kufra on Sunday in support of the Libyan Islamist insurgents.  Field commander Ashraf El Hasi said in an interview with the Arabic Sky News that Sudan attempted to move a convoy of vehicles carrying Yemeni fighters into Libya. He stated that the convoy was detected at the border town of El Kufra.  El Hasi accused Khartoum of supporting the Libyan militias, and using the airports of Sirte, Tripoli, and Masrata to supply weapons to the militants.  Libya has accused Sudan before of interfering in its internal affairs, a claim Khartoum has repeatedly denied. On 6 September, Libyan authorities announced the grounding of a Sudanese military aeroplane at El Kufra airport, “laden with weapons bound for rebels”. They claimed that the transport aircraft was heading for Tripoli‘s Mitiga airport, currently under the control of a Islamist militia group. Sudan described the incident as a misunderstanding. The week before, the Sudanese military attaché in Tripoli was declared persona non grata, after being accused of supporting Libyan militia groups. In June, Libyan general Khalifa Heftar termed Sudan’s position on terrorism in Libya as “ambiguous”. Map indicating the location of El Kufra Related: Libya grounds Sudan military aircraft in El Kufra (8 September 2014)