Egypt and Saudi Arabia Apply Pressure on Libya’s Haftar to Halt UAE-Linked Supplies to Sudan’s RSF
Closure of Kufra airport and diplomatic moves signal Cairo and Riyadh’s efforts to disrupt supply lines aiding Sudanese paramilitaries
Egypt and Saudi Arabia have intensified diplomatic and operational pressure on Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to end the flow of supplies emanating from eastern Libya to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, amid growing concerns over regional security and the ongoing Sudanese civil war.
The pressure follows mounting evidence that eastern Libyan territory has been used as a logistical conduit for fuel, weapons and other materiel destined for the RSF, a paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces since April 2023.
The strategic Kufra airport in southeastern Libya was recently closed for approximately one month, ostensibly for runway maintenance, but Libyan and regional analysts say the real motive reflects coordinated pressure from Cairo and Riyadh on the Haftar-led Libyan Arab Armed Forces to curtail transit routes supporting the RSF.
The airport has been a key node in the network that has enabled fuel and other supplies to reach RSF fighters through remote desert corridors from Libya into Sudan’s Darfur region, enhancing the paramilitary group’s operational mobility and sustainment.
Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia view uninterrupted supply channels to the RSF as a destabilising factor for the wider region.
Egypt, which shares a long border with Sudan and is deeply invested in its neighbour’s stability, has repeatedly called for an end to cross-border incursions and logistical support that could embolden RSF advances.
Riyadh’s stance reflects broader Arab concerns about the intensification of proxy support networks that undermine international efforts at ceasefire and political settlement after thousands of casualties and millions displaced in Sudan’s conflict.
The Haftar faction in eastern Libya — long supported by the United Arab Emirates and Russia — denies facilitating direct military support for the RSF, but multiple investigative reports and satellite tracking of supply routes have documented the movement of fuel and weapons that appear to benefit the paramilitary group.
As a result, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are using both diplomatic channels and practical measures such as airspace control and transport restrictions to diminish the capacity of Libyan territory to serve as a logistics base for RSF resupply.
The evolving regional manoeuvres underscore the complex interplay of alliances in North Africa and the Horn of Africa, where competing interests over Sudan’s future continue to shape interstate relations and security dynamics.
The pressure follows mounting evidence that eastern Libyan territory has been used as a logistical conduit for fuel, weapons and other materiel destined for the RSF, a paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces since April 2023.
The strategic Kufra airport in southeastern Libya was recently closed for approximately one month, ostensibly for runway maintenance, but Libyan and regional analysts say the real motive reflects coordinated pressure from Cairo and Riyadh on the Haftar-led Libyan Arab Armed Forces to curtail transit routes supporting the RSF.
The airport has been a key node in the network that has enabled fuel and other supplies to reach RSF fighters through remote desert corridors from Libya into Sudan’s Darfur region, enhancing the paramilitary group’s operational mobility and sustainment.
Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia view uninterrupted supply channels to the RSF as a destabilising factor for the wider region.
Egypt, which shares a long border with Sudan and is deeply invested in its neighbour’s stability, has repeatedly called for an end to cross-border incursions and logistical support that could embolden RSF advances.
Riyadh’s stance reflects broader Arab concerns about the intensification of proxy support networks that undermine international efforts at ceasefire and political settlement after thousands of casualties and millions displaced in Sudan’s conflict.
The Haftar faction in eastern Libya — long supported by the United Arab Emirates and Russia — denies facilitating direct military support for the RSF, but multiple investigative reports and satellite tracking of supply routes have documented the movement of fuel and weapons that appear to benefit the paramilitary group.
As a result, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are using both diplomatic channels and practical measures such as airspace control and transport restrictions to diminish the capacity of Libyan territory to serve as a logistics base for RSF resupply.
The evolving regional manoeuvres underscore the complex interplay of alliances in North Africa and the Horn of Africa, where competing interests over Sudan’s future continue to shape interstate relations and security dynamics.
