...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...'s army said on Wednesday it had evacuated a strategic border zone shared with Libya and Egypt, calling it a defensive move against potential incursions by militia forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all. Actually, he is, but slowly...
The move follows an accusation by the Sudanese army on Tuesday that Haftar's forces, fighting alongside Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), had attacked its border posts.
A group loyal to Haftar denied the charge, calling it a ''blatant attempt to export Sudan's internal crisis and create a virtual external enemy'' and said one of its own patrols had been attacked.
In a statement, a Sudanese army front man said the evacuation of the triangle area was part of ''defensive arrangements to repel aggression.''
Tensions in the remote region flared on June 6, when a Libyan unit loyal to Haftar reportedly entered about 3 km (2 miles) into Sudanese territory near Mount Arkenu. A clash with an gang allied with Sudan's army left two Libyan soldiers dead and others captured, according to the initial report.