By Nabil Selim
KHARTOUM
Sudanese Defense Minister Abdel-Rehim Hussein on Tuesday said his country rejected any foreign military interference in Libya.
"Sudan supports Libya's stability; military cooperation between the two nations is ongoing," Hussein told reporters following a meeting with visiting Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni, who was appointed by Libya's recently-elected House of Representatives.
The visit aims to ease tensions between the two nations after al-Thinni accused Sudan – along with Qatar – of arming the Islamist "Dawn of Libya" militia, threatening to sever ties with both countries if they continued their alleged support for the militia.
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry summoned Libyan Charge' d'Affaires Al-Senussi Mohamed shortly afterward to protest the allegations.
According to the ministry, al-Thinni's three-day visit, which began on Monday, is aimed at bolstering bilateral relations and examining ways of promoting peace in fractious Libya.
Libya has been dogged by political instability since the 2011 ouster and death of longstanding ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
In the three years since, rival militias have clashed in Libya's main cities, including capital Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi, while the government has remained largely absent from the scene.
The political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government in the country, each of which has its own institutions.
Vying for legislative authority are the newly-elected House of Representatives, which convenes in Tobruk, and the General National Congress, which – even though its mandate ended months ago – continues to convene in Tripoli.
The two assemblies support two different governments respectively headquartered in the two cities.
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