Sudan allowing overflights for Libya no-fly zone

Reuters reports that the Sudanese government is allowing overflight of its territory to support the internationally-imposed no-fly zone in Libya:

"Sudan has given permission to use its airspace," a diplomat told Reuters this week. Another diplomat confirmed it, adding Sudan was not alone.

It was not immediately clear what other countries were allowing the coalition to pass through their airspace.

The news of Sudan’s participation comes as Western warplanes hit military targets deep inside Libya on Thursday but failed to prevent tanks re-entering the western town of Misrata and besieging its main hospital.

Of course, it wasn’t so long ago that there was a serious debate over whether to impose a no-fly zone on Sudan to prevent atrocities in Darfur. Just this week, the Southern Sudanese government accused Khartoum of launching airstrikes against the border. While he can’t like the precedent of humanitarian intervention, President Omar al-Bashir is clearly calculating that it’s worth staying below the radar — so to speak — and being a team player on this one.