Talk of ties between Libya's "National Army," led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has resurfaced following fresh allegations that RSF fighters are being trained at camps inside Libya. The army's General Command rejected the allegations, describing them as "part of a campaign aimed at tarnishing its image." A senior Libyan military source on Thursday also denied foreign media reports of RSF training camps in Libya, telling Asharq Al-Awsat that the claims were "baseless." The source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of his position, said the report was “an attempt to cloud the security stability achieved in eastern and southern Libya ... This is false propaganda the General Command has faced for years, especially since the outbreak of the war in Sudan.” Libyan lawmaker Ali al-Soul, a member of parliament’s National Security Committee, echoed the denial, saying reports of RSF camps on Libyan territory were “nothing more than media lies unsupported by any facts on the ground.” Al-Soul told Asharq Al-Awsat that “Libya does not interfere in the internal affairs of neighboring countries, and has not and will not fuel any conflicts there.” “There are no foreign forces from neighboring countries witnessing conflicts, especially Sudan, inside Libyan territory,” adding that Libya acts only through “good offices to calm tensions and protect its national security,” he said. The Libyan lawmaker said the “National Army” was “doing its duty to protect the country’s sovereignty, borders and resources, fighting smuggling gangs with the available means, and respecting the sovereignty of other states by not backing one side against another.” Recent reports said southern and eastern Libya host a logistical hub for training RSF fighters, identifying four training camps in areas under the control of the “National Army.” They include “Camp 17” near Benghazi, where fighters are trained to operate drones and heavy weapons, according to analysis of satellite images and open-source videos. The reports drew on an investigation by the Dutch organization Lighthouse Reports, in cooperation with Sudan War Monitor and Evident Media, a group specializing in visual investigations. People close to the “National Army” see the accusations through a different lens, linking them to Libya’s political situation and active international efforts to resolve the crisis, as the country remains divided politically and militarily more than a decade on. Libyan political analyst Ayoub al-Awjali said the timing of the accusations was “not innocent.” He told Asharq Al-Awsat they “coincide with the US initiative led by US presidential adviser Massad Boulos on the Libya file,” suggesting they may be part of attempts to “shuffle the political cards and influence the course of ongoing understandings.” Libya’s political scene is currently focused on an initiative attributed to Boulos that would see Saddam Haftar, deputy commander of the “National Army,” take over the Presidential Council, while the interim Government of National Unity's Prime Minister, Abdulhamid Dbeibah, would remain in a senior role at the head of a unified government. Al-Awjali did not rule out “efforts by some international parties involved in the Libyan crisis to use such accusations to achieve political gains or reshape the scene in ways that serve their interests, given the advanced steps made by the Boulos initiative.” He expected “new accusations and attempts” to use various crisis cards in the next phase. The “National Army” maintains that it has no involvement in Sudan’s conflict, saying its mission is limited to protecting the southern border and preventing threats to Libyan security. Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Khaled Haftar previously made the same point in a televised interview, saying: “The conflict in Sudan is an internal matter in which we do not interfere. Our role is limited to securing Libya’s borders with neighboring countries.” The parliament-appointed government and Libya’s House of Representatives have also said the same. Sudan’s representative to the UN Security Council, Al-Harith Idris, had accused Libya’s “National Army” of providing logistical support to the RSF. In a briefing to the Security Council last month, he said the Subul al-Salam Battalion, based in Kufra, was transferring ammunition and mortar rounds from the warehouses of the 106th Brigade to the RSF. In December, Reuters reported that an airstrip at Kufra airport in southeastern Libya had been used as a logistical platform to support military operations linked to El Fasher, an allegation the “National Army” denied.
