The Saudi regime has gone quiet and has stood clear of the rebels. Four weeks ago it even prevented the new Libyan leaders from reaching Qatar, where they had meetings planned, by forbidding them to cross their airspace. When asked about the reasons behind their decision, the authorities refused to comment.
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As much as siding with the rebels to get to Gaddafi might sound attractive, Saudi it seems has for now decided to follow the lead of most Arab countries, that is not breaking with their tradition of doing absolutely nothing when controversial conflicts arise.
Saudi Arabia is not the only country that the Libyan conflict has put in an awkward position. Tehran has tried to balance support for the Libyan opposition, which it views as part of a region-wide "Islamic awakening," with rejection of the Nato-led military strikes.
Keeping in with their anti-Western outlook, Iranian officials still insist that the U.N.-endorsed military intervention on humanitarian grounds is hypocritical and part of a secret Western agenda. Tehran has made no secret of the fact that it opposes any military intervention in the Middle East, even if in Iran's interest, and had also opposed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, despite the fact Saddam Hussein was Iran's main adversary in the region.
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However its seems that the person who illustrates the best Iran's dichotomist position is the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who explained, "Iran utterly condemns the behaviour of the Libyan government against its people, the killings and pressure on people, and the bombing of its cities... but it (also) condemns the military action in Libya."
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/are-libyan-rebels-backed-by-saudi-arabia-or-iran-157943
“Libya regains Arab League seat”, August 2011
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The Arab League has readmitted Libya to the regional bloc, turning over the country's seat to the National Transitional Council (NTC) and effectively recognising the rebel body as the legitimate authority in Libya.
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The 22-member organisation suspended Libya's membership in February in a protest against Muammar Gaddafi's crackdown on demonstrators.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/08/2011827223817990105.html
“France's Military Is All Over Africa”, January 2015
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However, French troops never fully left Chad. Instead, the French established a base at N'Djamena, Chad's capital. A contingent of approximately 800 French soldiers remained at the base and helped provide Chadian authorities with aerial surveillance on the advance of Sudanese government-supported rebels, acting as a crucial force multiplier for Chadian dictator Idris Deby during battles in the capital in 2006 and 2008.
As part of a global mission to tackle militancy across Africa, France launched Operation Barkhane in 2014 as a continuation of Operation Epervier and Operation Servel. Operation Barkhane will be headquarted at N'Djamena and 1,200 troops will be stationed in Chad.
http://www.businessinsider.com/frances-military-is-all-over-africa-2015-1
“Sudanese President Bashir's visit to Turkey in limbo”, August 2011
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The statement came hours after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan defended al-Bashir’s visit by saying, “A Muslim can never commit genocide.”
“Those world leaders who criticize us, have they ever visited Darfur? Their information is solely based on what the rapporteurs are reporting. These kinds of moves will not contribute to world peace,” Erdoğan said Sunday in an address to party members.
“It’s not possible for a Muslim to commit genocide,” he said. “That’s why we are comfortable [with the visit of al-Bashir].”
The International Criminal Court, or ICC, has issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir, citing his alleged role in the atrocities perpetrated in the Darfur region of Sudan, which claimed the lives of more than 300,000 people. Turkey is among the few countries to have not yet ratified the Rome Statute, which requires compliance with ICC rulings.
The European Union asked Turkey on Friday to align its policy on the al-Bashir issue with that of Brussels and indirectly demanded the cancellation of the visit for the sake of the ongoing membership talks. In the meantime, international human rights organizations urged Turkey to arrest al-Bashir if he arrives in Istanbul.
“Erdogan's blind faith in Muslims”, November 2009
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Despite glaring evidence to the contrary, the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, believes "it is not possible for those who belong to the Muslim faith to carry out genocide". Accordingly, he refuses to accept that Sudanese paramilitaries committed genocidal acts against the population of Darfur, or that Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, is guilty of the crimes for which he has been indicted by the International Criminal Court.
Furthermore, says Erdogan, Israeli "war crimes" in Gaza are worse than anything that has taken place in Sudan, a comment guaranteed to further strain the already fragile relationship between Jerusalem and Ankara – and rightly so, on Israel's part. Whatever one's take on Israel's actions during Operation Cast Lead and the general siege on the Gaza Strip, to make such absurd comparisons is both futile and false, and has no place being uttered by a statesman who sees himself as a suitable mediator between Israel and the Palestinians.
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In isolation, Erdogan's support of Bashir appears built on shaky foundations, and as such is a pretty heinous crime in itself, by virtue of attempting to gloss over some of the worst massacres committed in recent history. However, even more egregious are the racist undertones of his message: while it is entirely legitimate to upbraid Israel, as with any other state, for misdeeds carried out by the state's rulers, such censure ought never be turned into an all-out attack on one religion's values against another's.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/nov/11/erdogan-muslims-turkish-sudan-gaza
“Erdogan says favors Bashir over Netanyahu”, August 2009
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3802150,00.html
“Sudanese army: Rebel leader Ibrahim killed”, December 2011
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A major Darfur rebel leader and some of his top commanders have been killed, a Sudanese army spokesman announced on state-run radio Sunday.
"Our armed forces were able to destroy the renegade Khalil Ibrahim, who died along with members of (his group's) leadership that was with him," said Alswarmi Khalid, the army's spokesperson.
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Ibrahim was the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), considered the most powerful Darfur rebel group. The JEM had refused to join the Doha Darfur peace document, signed between the Sudanese government and another rebel group, the Liberation and Justice Movement, this year.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/25/world/africa/sudan-rebel-leader-killed/
“Libya's Gaddafi says will rein in Sudanese rebel”, July 2010
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Libya has told a Sudanese rebel leader staying on its territory he must do nothing to jeopardise peace talks in Sudan, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi says in an interview to be broadcast later on Monday.
Gaddafi has come under pressure from Sudan's government to expel Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the Darfur region's rebel Justice and Equality Movement, given refuge in Libya in May.
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Sudan has called on Libya to expel Ibrahim, and it said last month it was closing its borders with Libya, citing a need to protect people from attacks by Darfur insurgents.
Ibrahim was given refuge in Libya after Chad, which had previously allowed the rebel movement to use its territory as a base, changed its policy and refused him entry as he returned from a trip to Libya.
The dispute between Sudan and Libya could cast a shadow over the meeting of African Union heads of state, which takes place in the Ugandan capital later this month. (Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Writing by Christian Lowe)
http://www.reuters.com/article/libya-gaddafi-sudan-idAFLDE66I21020100719
“Operation Barkhane”
Operation Barkhane is an ongoing anti-insurgent operation in Africa's Sahel region, which commenced 1 August 2014.[7] It consists of a 3,000-strong French force, which will be permanent and headquartered in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad.[3] The operation has been designed with five countries, and former French colonies, that span the Sahel: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.[3] These countries are collectively referred to as the "G5 Sahel."[8]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Barkhane
“Syria suspended from Arab League”, November 2011
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Syria has been suspended from the Arab League over its failure to end the bloodshed caused by brutal government crackdowns on pro-democracy protests in a move that will increase the international pressure on President Bashar al-Assad.
At an emergency session of its 22 member states in Cairo to discuss the crisis, the league decided to exclude Syria until it implements the terms of an earlier agreed peace deal to stop the violence.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/12/syria-suspended-arab-league
“The Arab League suspends Libya until demands of the people are met”, February 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/2011/02/110223_libya_arableague_focus.shtml
“Qatar admits sending hundreds of troops to support Libya rebels”, Οκτώβριος 2011
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Qatar has admitted for the first time that it sent hundreds of troops to support the Libyan rebels who overthrew Muammar Gaddafi's regime.
The Gulf state had previously acknowledged only that its air force took part in Nato-led attacks.
The revelation came as Qatar hosted a conference on the post-Gaddafi era that was attended by the leader of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who described the Qataris as having planned the battles that paved the way for victory.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/26/qatar-troops-libya-rebels-support
“Libya’s Gaddafi was top supporter of Darfur rebels”, March 2011
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West Darfur governor Al-Shertai Ga’far Abdel-Hakam who is also the TDRA head told a forum organized by the National Union of Sudanese youth that Gaddafi provided money and weaponry to rebels in the region as well as the East and the South.
He provided no details to back his claims. However, he is the first high ranking Sudanese official to go on the record with these allegations that his peers made privately for years
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article38422
“Sudan armed Libyan rebels, says President Bashir”, October 2011
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Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir says his country gave military support to the Libyan rebels who overthrew Col Muammar Gaddafi.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-15471734
“Iran hails death of long-time ally Qaddafi as great victory, October 2011
https://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/10/21/172895.html
“Israeli officials head to France in last-minute bid to block nuclear deal”, March 2015
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Unable to find support from its US allies, Israel is turning to France to help head off what it sees as a bad and dangerous nuclear deal with Iran.
In an interview with the Associated Press in Paris, the Israeli intelligence minister, Yuval Steinitz, said on Monday that dialogue with France over Iran’s nuclear program “has proven in the past that it was productive” and makes this week’s last-minute diplomatic mission to Paris worthwhile.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/23/israel-france-stop-iran-nuclear-deal
“French Minister Laurent Fabius Wary on Iran Nuclear Deal”, June 2015
http://www.wsj.com/articles/french-minister-laurent-fabius-wary-on-iran-nuclear-deal-1433174816
“Mohammed Morsi grants himself sweeping new powers in wake of Gaza”, November 2012
“Turkey opposes any NATO operation in Libya”, March 2011
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NATO member Turkey on Monday said it opposed growing international calls to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, saying such operation would be unhelpful and fraught with risk.
"Military intervention by NATO in Libya or any other country would be totally counter-productive," Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, whose country is the only Muslim member of NATO, told an international forum in Istanbul.
Erdogan spoke as France stepped up efforts to persuade world powers to impose a no-fly zone and after the Arab League gave a regional seal of approval NATO has said is vital for any military action.
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Washington has said any decision to impose a no-fly zone is a matter for the United Nations and should not be a U.S.-led initiative.
But Erdogan said foreign interventions, especially military ones, had in the past only deepened the problems.
"We need to give the Libyan people permission to chart their own course," he said.
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Non-Arab Turkey, a rising diplomatic and economic power in the Middle East, had projects worth more than $15 billion in Libya.
Analysts said business interests, along with Erdogan's apprehension over the implications of backing a Western-led intervention in the region three months before parliamentary elections in Turkey, could be behind Ankara's opposition.
Libya was part of the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century until it was conquered by Italy in 1912.
"Erdogan is unsure about the ultimate victor of the revolt in Libya and he might be hedging his bets," Fadi Hakura, an associate fellow at the London-based Chatham House said.
Erdogan, who last year received a human rights award from Muammar Gaddafi, told Al Arabiya television in an interview broadcast on Monday he had told Gaddafi he should name a president with popular support as a way to end Libya's crisis.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-turkey-idUSTRE72D49D20110314
“Turkish PM to receive Gadhafi human rights award”, November 2010
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Turkey’s prime
minister is flying to Tripoli to attend an EU-African summit and receive a
human rights award, given in the name of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan's