Libya's Hifter spokesman says Sudan supplied arms to rivals

BENGHAZI, Libya – A spokesman for the Libyan army in the east says ousted Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir and his associates had been supplying militias with arms and fighters.

Ahmed al-Mesmari said in a televised statement late Friday that two military planes took off from Khartoum on March 28 carrying insurgents, "weapons and ammunition" and landed in Tripoli's Matiga air base.

The base is under the control of militias aligned with the U.N.-brokered government in Tripoli.

Forces under the command of Khalifa Hifter loyal to a rival government in the east are at war with the Tripoli militias and launched an offensive to seize control of the capital.

Al-Mesmari expressed support for the Sudanese military, which detained al-Bashir in a military coup and took power.