The Assistant for Security Affairs at the Illegal Immigration Agency, Mohamed Buraidah announced that security reinforcements have been sent along the Libyan-Sudanese border. This comes against the backdrop of armed clashes between Sudan’s army, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.
In press statements, the Libyan official indicated that this is to support the security patrols deployed along the borders between the two neighbouring countries.
He also explained that “these security reinforcements came on the heels of intelligence reports revealing that some outlaws intend to exploit the armed clashes taking place in Sudan, to increase the rates of smuggling and illegal immigration to Libya.”
On Sunday, the Head of Libya’s Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency in the eastern region, Major General Rafie Al-Barghathi said that the “continued tense situation in Sudan is doubling the displacement towards the Libyan border.”
In press statements, Al-Barghathi explained that “hundreds of Sudanese have arrived at the Libyan border individually. It is expected that the numbers will increase if the situation continues to deteriorate.”
He stressed that the situation in Sudan “entails many risks, especially with regard to displacement and migration towards neighbouring countries.” Al-Barghathi pointed out that the security and military services control the borders with Sudan.
A group of Libyan MPs expressed their concerns about the armed conflict in Sudan, stressing that “Libya will not support one party at the expense of the other.”
In a joint statement, the MP’s called on Sudan’s leaders to “sit at the dialogue table and give priority to the country’s supreme interest. The armed conflict in Sudan will turn the country into chaos, and a battleground between external parties that threaten the security of Sudan.”
They warned that the conflict “might affect neighbouring countries, especially Libya, which had previously suffered from violations by the armed militias of neighbouring countries.”
“Libya is neutral and equidistant from both sides of the conflict in Sudan. Libya has not, and will not support any party at the expense of the other,” the statement said.