Cairo Takes Action: Successful Coordination with Sudan and Libya for Protection of Joint Border Triangle

Cairo – Sudanhorizon -Sabah Musa
The border triangle between Egypt, Sudan, and Libya was the scene of security tension since the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announcement that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militias have entered the area with the support of forces under Khalifa Haftar command.

Tripartite Meeting
In this regard, the Egyptian capital, Cairo, hosted a high-level meeting of officials from Egypt, Sudan, and Libya to exchange views on security challenges and developments in the region. The meeting, announced by Cairo News Channel on Wednesday, discussed coordination and cooperation between the three countries to maintain national security and promote the supreme interests of their peoples. During the meeting, Egypt expressed its sincere appreciation and thanks to Sudan and Libya for their efforts to deepen ties and integration to achieve stability and prosperity.

Border Tensions
This meeting comes after tensions rose between Sudan and Libya over the border area linking the three countries. The Sudanese Armed Forces accused forces affiliated with the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Khalifa Haftar, of collaborating with the rebel Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dangelo (Hemedti), in launching an attack on Sudanese border positions in the border triangle area.
On June 30, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. Immediately after a meeting he held with the Chairman of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in two separate meetings in the Egyptian city of El Alamein. Observers linked the meetings between Sisi and Haftar, and Sisi and Burhan, emphasizing that these events could not be the work of hazard, and they believed that the border triangle was discussed. Reports had been circulated of a tripartite meeting between Sisi, Burhan, and Haftar to further coordinate and consult on the national and border security of the three countries, a possibility confirmed by some and denied by others.
Egyptian Messages
In any case, whether that meeting took place or not, what’s more important is that this meeting was held in Cairo a few days after the El Alamein meeting. This meeting appears to be a result of what was reached in El Alamein. Cairo appears to be handling matters pragmatically, without resorting to hype or media hype, and is trying to reach security solutions in this important border area. It merely announced the meeting, but did not announce its details, the level of officials from the three countries who participated, or their conclusions. Whether there will be further meetings for further coordination remains to be seen. However, anyone following Egypt’s approach to such sensitive issues finds it to be a wise and objective approach. Through it, Egypt may be sending specific messages that it will never compromise its national security, that it is doing so in coordination with Sudan and Libya, that it is capable of separating its interests from its national security, and that it can reach understandings with Haftar, who supports the Rapid Support Forces, and with the Sudanese Armed Forces, who are fighting the Rapid Support Forces on the ground. This is a difficult equation that perhaps only Egypt, which is still struggling, can achieve. It possesses influence in the region, regardless of how their interests intersect and regardless of the emergence of other regional powers trying to pull the rug from beneath its feet.

A Firm Position
It also appears that what Cairo is doing, whether through Sisi’s meetings with Burhan and Haftar in El Alamein, or through the meeting announced yesterday between the three countries, is also intended to send a message to the leader of the rebel Rapid Support Forces militia, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti,” that when it coordinates border security with the Sudanese state, it meets with the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, who confirmed their firm position during the El Alamein meeting. This means that Hemedti’s flirting with Cairo in his recent statement fell on deaf ears. This is in addition to the message that may be sent to the international community, stating that Egypt is the country that can make a breakthrough in resolving the Sudanese crisis, given its proximity and understanding of the complexities of the situation in Sudan.

Great Importance
There is no doubt that these summit-level meetings between the three countries, and that this technical meeting on security coordination between the three countries, which concerns the border triangle area—a strategic area located at the intersection of the borders of Sudan, Egypt, and Libya, including Jabal al-Uwaynat—are of great importance and come at a critical time. How do experts in Egypt and Sudan interpret this?
There is more to come.
For his part, Mustafa Bakri, editor-in-chief of Al-Usbu’ newspaper and member of the Egyptian Parliament, believes that this meeting aims to further communication and coordination between the three countries. Bakri told Sudanhorizon that little information emerged from this meeting, but it sends important messages that Egypt can play a significant role in Libya and Sudan, and that it can also coordinate to secure the borders between the three countries. He added that these activities and meetings between the three countries come amidst Hemedti’s differing statements about Egypt, and that this also sends a message. He pointed to Haftar’s denial that his forces entered the border triangle area to support the Rapid Support Forces militias, noting that this action may have been carried out by one of Haftar’s sons, most likely his son “Saddam,” who was also received by Egypt before his father. He emphasized that the Cairo meeting between the three countries will have some consequences in the coming days.

Latest Crisis
For his part, Sudanese security and military expert Major General Amin Ismail Majzoub confirmed that the triangle crisis is the latest crisis in the region that concerns Sudan, Egypt, and Libya. Majzoub told sudanhorizon that the specificity of this crisis is that it occurred in a border area, and also an area of economic activity, in addition to the fact that there were joint forces between Sudan and Libya, adding that the absence of these joint forces is due to reasons related to the Libyan side, as a result of the existing differences, and the presence of two governments within Libya, stressing that Sudan has clear evidence of the involvement of Haftar’s group and the provision of direct support, and participation with groups belonging to the Benghazi group that participated with the Rapid Support Forces militias in the attack on the Triangle area, and he said that Sudan withdrew the forces present there which were for warning purposes, rather than for combat purposes.

The Right Path
The Sudanese security expert explained that there was an initiative by President el-Sisi to bring together General Burhan and Khalifa Haftar. He said that the matter was discussed at this summit, and he believes that some positive points were reached. He added that this tripartite meeting, held under the auspices of Cairo, is one of the outcomes of the summit held in El Alamein, by addressing the issue in the Triangle region in a way that preserves the rights of the three countries.
He pointed out that Sudan has presented clear accusations. He underlined, “It seems that we are on the right path with Egyptian sponsorship of this crisis so as to avoid any tension on the borders linking the three countries.”
He commended the Egyptian leadership for giving this matter due attention given its security and economic importance in this region. He said that this region cannot become a zone of tension, adding that the Libyans are fully aware that Sudan has not accused them over the past years, and that this accusation now comes as a result of the attack that took place.

National Security
The Sudanese expert denied that the matter was an internal Sudanese dispute, and said it was an attack involving Libyan-affiliated parties. He noted that all these matters will be discussed and solutions will be reached, and that everything that unites Sudan and Libya is greater than any tension or interference from other parties. He explained that the attack on the triangle came after all the axes that enter Sudan from Chad, whether through the Adre crossing or other routes, were mobilized. He also explained that support shifted from Chad to Libyan groups, and that the conflicts moved to the triangle region. He emphasized that ‘’we are witnessing a major change in the attacks on Sudan’’, and that everyone is aware of the importance of this region.
He renewed his appreciation and commended the Egyptian leadership, that spoke responsibly about preserving Sudanese institutions and ensuring Sudan’s unity and stability, as it is part of Egyptian national security. He said that regional national security is of concern to the three countries, and that this is an opportunity to resolve this crisis and remove it altogether from the region.

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