20100627
reuters

Sudan on Sunday said it had asked Libya to expel the leader of Darfur's rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), accusing him of trying to undermine peace talks and threatening attacks on Khartoum.

JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim has been staying in Libya since May when authorities in neighbouring Chad stopped him at their capital's airport and said he could not pass through their territory to return to the battlefield in Darfur.

Ibrahim has since given a number of media interviews from Libya, repeating his movement's threats to attack Sudanese cities, including Khartoum, and deriding ongoing peace talks between Sudan's government and other rebel groups.

"We are asking Libya to expel him," said Sudan foreign ministry spokesman Moawia Osman. "We don't want him to make aggressive statements out of a sisterly country like Libya."

Osman said Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had spoken to Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir by phone and promised to limit Ibrahim's communications and movements.

An expulsion could leave the JEM leader in a difficult position -- Chad, which borders Sudan and Libya, has already refused to take him and an Egyptian refuge would anger Khartoum.

The Sudanese Media Centre, a news website with links to Sudan's government, late on Saturday quoted the head of Sudan's national security service Muhammad Atta al-Mawla Abbas saying Libya was preparing to expel Ibrahim.

Osman said he could not comment on the report.

JEM was one of two Darfur rebel groups that revolted in 2003 demanding more autonomy for the arid western region.