Haftar's Libya Expels 12 Sudan Diplomats
Authorities in eastern Libya backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar on Thursday ordered the closure of a Sudanese consulate and the expulsion of 12 diplomats, a pro-Haftar news agency announced.
It said the order to shut down the mission in Kufra, an oasis in southern Libya, was taken on the grounds of "damage to Libyan national security."
The consul and 11 consular staff were given 72 hours to leave the country, which has been mired in anarchy since its 2011 revolution that toppled its longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Sudan's embassy in Tripoli is closed but a consulate with limited personnel serves Sudanese living in the capital, according to its Facebook page.
Officials in Khartoum have accused Haftar of enlisting rebels from Sudan's Darfur region to fight alongside his forces, while the field marshal has charged that Sudan supports "terrorists" in Libya.
Khartoum recognizes the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord of U.N.-backed prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj, a rival of Haftar and Libya's eastern authorities supported by his forces.
According to officials in Khartoum, dozens of young Sudanese -- both men and women -- have been killed in Libya fighting in the ranks of the Islamic State jihadist group.
Source: Agence France Presse
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