Sudan Closes Libyan Border Over Rebel Threat
VOA News 28 June 2010
Sudan says it will close its border crossings with Libya to protect travelers from attacks by rebels.
Sudan's Interior Ministry said authorities would block land crossings from July 1.
The ministry did not give details on the identity of the potential attackers. However, the move comes as tensions are increasing between Libya and Sudan over Darfur insurgents who have taken refuge in Tripoli.
Sudan has called on Libya to expel the leader of Darfur's rebel Justice and Equality Movement, Khalil Ibrahim.
Chad, on Libya's southern border, has already refused to take in the rebel leader. Ibrahim flew to Chad's capital, N'Djamena, in May, but he was not allowed to enter the country and his plane was force to back to Tripoli.
Chad recently re-established relations with Sudan, which has been fighting the JEM and other Darfur rebel groups since 2003.
JEM signed a cease-fire with Sudan's government in February. However, there have been a number of deadly clashes since then and JEM has threatened to pull out of the peace process entirely.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
