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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Sudan
Index
Sudan's relations with Libya, its neighbor on the northwest,
alternated between extreme hostility and cordiality throughout
the 1980s. Nimeiri and Libyan leader Muammar al Qadhafi were
especially antagonistic toward each other. Nimeiri permitted the
Libyan National Salvation Front to broadcast anti-Qadhafi
diatribes from radio transmitters located in Sudan. The Libyan
government responded by training anti-Nimeiri opposition forces
in Libya and providing financial and material support to the
SPLM. Repairing relations with Libya has been a goal of the
transitional, parliamentary, and military governments since 1985.
The Sadiq al Mahdi government permitted Libya to station some of
its military forces in Darfur, from whence they assisted Chadian
rebels in carrying out raids against government forces in Chad.
The expanding relations between Sudan and Libya were not viewed
favorably in Cairo, and in 1988, apparently in response to
pressures from Egypt and the United States, the Sudanese
government requested a withdrawal of the Libyan forces.
Relations with Libya expanded again after the June 1989 coup.
Khartoum and Tripoli both expressed interest in an eventual
unification of their nations. In July 1990, the Libyan-Sudanese
joint General Peoples' Committee held its first meeting, and the
Councils of Ministers of the two countries met in a combined
session. Although a unity agreement was negotiated in 1990, the
chief result of these meetings was not political union but
greater economic cooperation. Libya and Sudan signed a trade and
development protocol that provided, among other things, for
Libyan investment in agricultural projects in exchange for
guaranteed access to Sudanese food supplies. The two countries
also agreed to form a working committee to draft plans for easing
travel restrictions between Darfur and the Al Khalij area on the
Libyan side of the border. Later in 1990, Qadhafi made an
official state visit to Khartoum. Although the Libyan leader
expressed satisfaction with the progress made in relations
between the two countries, he also lectured the RCC-NS on the
inappropriateness of its close ties to the NIF.
Data as of June 1991
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