A civil war in Sudan would affect Italy says Crosetto

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 18 - A full-blown civil war in Sudan, where rival generals have been fighting for weeks reaping hundreds of victims, would necessarily affect Italy by destablising neighbouring countries and boosting migrant flows, among other things, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told the parliamentary foreign affairs and defence committees Thursday.
    "A civil war in Sudan would risk having negative effects on Egypt and Libya by destabilising nations deeply affected by the Ukraine crisis. For example, Egypt has been hit by the wheat shortage and the rising cost of energy. If I add to that a migratory problem, and if this is also happening in Libya, the sum of the two things - considering what is happening in Tunisia - means a further worsening of their internal situation, their stability and what can happen to us too," Crosetto told a joint session of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committees, in the context of the examination of their deliberations on Italian missions abroad.
    Crosetto also explained that a mission to Sudan cannot be planned at the moment.
    There have been reports of civilian atrocities as fighting continues to rage in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, West Darfur and other areas, while the intensification of the factional fighting has promoted a $3 billion UN aid call. (ANSA).