Libya PM cancels Sudan visit over Tripoli violence

By Mohammed Amin

KHARTOUM (AA) - Prime Minister of Libya’s unity government Fayez al-Sarraj cancelled a scheduled visit to Sudan on Wednesday due to the security unrest in the capital Tripoli, according to the Sudanese foreign ministry.

Al-Sarraj was planned to arrive in Khartoum for a two-day visit for talks with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on bilateral relations.

The Libyan leader, however, has postponed his visit due to insecurity in Tripoli, which has made his movement very difficult, the ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, the Libyan foreign minister has conveyed al-Sarraj’s apology to the Sudanese president over cancelling the visit.

Violence flared in Tripoli in recent days amid clashes between forces loyal to the unity government and a rival militia.

Last month, al-Sarraj survived an assassination attempt when his convoy came under fire in Tripoli.

Libya has been wracked by turmoil since 2011, when a bloody uprising ended with the ouster and death of Muammar Gaddafi after 42 years in power.

In the wake of the uprising, the country’s stark political divisions yielded two rival seats of government, one in Tobruk and the other in Tripoli.

In an effort to resolve the political standoff, Libya’s rival governments signed a UN-backed agreement in late 2015 establishing a government of national unity.