On Thursday, the Libyan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Najla Al-Mangoush held a meeting with the Libyan Ambassador to Sudan, Fawzi Bomerriz to discuss the latest updates on the situation of Libyan nationals residing in Sudan.
In a statement, Al-Mangoush was briefed on the measures taken by the Embassy to evacuate the Libyan community in Sudan. This comes against the backdrop of the armed clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.
The meeting also “touched on the latest developments in the country, and the efforts that can be made to help the Sudanese people in these difficult circumstances.”
They also discussed the possibility of communicating with the warring parties, in an effort to maintain calm and stability.
Al-Mangoush affirmed Libya’s “support and readiness to mediate between the conflicting parties, and to support humanitarian efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people as a result of the armed conflicts that the country is going through.”
On Saturday, the Libyan Embassy in Sudan issued a final appeal for members of the Libyan community wishing to leave the country. It called on all nationals to reach out to the Embassy’s emergency team as soon as possible.
The Embassy wished safety for all members of the Libyan community in Khartoum, stressing the need to take precautionary measures and adhere to safe places of residence.
Notably, a high-ranking Libyan military official warned of the repercussions of the armed clashes in Sudan, on the situation in Libya.
He called for the closure of the common borders with Sudan until the situation calms down.
The Commander of the Military Organisation and Administration Authority in southern Libya, Brigadier General Abdel-Salam Al-Busaifi, appealed to the Chiefs of Staff in the East and West of Libya to quickly close the borders.
He urged them to “assign striking military forces to protect them, and prevent any infiltration and to station reconnaissance planes at Kufra Airport.”
“I think it will be a long-term war, and we have to close our border like what Chad has done since the start of the clashes in Sudan,” Al-Bousaifi said in press statements. He pointed out that the southeast region would be most affected if the clashes spread to Libya.
For its part, the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on Libyan citizens in Sudan to stay indoors and exercise caution.
The violence is the latest setback in a long-delayed transition to a civilian government following the ousting of dictator Omar Al-Bashir in 2019, after months of street p
