Bashir is now playing with fire with Saudi Arabia !

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir faces the danger of a deterioration in his relationship with the kingdom and losing the Saudi support after he threw himself into the arms of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by giving him control over the Suakin island.

The france info channel reported that Al-Bashir had given the task of entrusting Ankara with the reconstruction of Suakin Island, which is an important port of Africa on the Red Sea, a step that did not please Riyadh, which has long stood by Khartoum and was a major factor in lifting of economic sanctions on Sudan.

The report adds that Bashir is facing the risk of losing Saudi support following this step, which was announced during the visit of the Turkish President at the end of last year to Sudan.

According to the report: The coastal island on the west coast of the Red Sea was a gateway for African pilgrims to Mecca and a very important strategic port of the Ottoman Empire.

The reports highlights the great potentials of Suakin as being on the Red Sea which tempts Turkey to invest in it as a future tourist destinatio. And here we quote for the report: "Turkey wants to make Swakim a tourist destination, which was referred to by Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin, who stated that their desire is to rehabilitate of the island in full and make it a tourist destination. In fact, under the Ottoman Empire, it was an important port for Hajj and Umrah before going to Jeddah. " 

  The report adds that this move has provoked anger in Riyadh, especially after the establishment of a Turkish military base in Qatar and Erdogan's support of Doha in the Gulf crisis. The spread of Turkish bases and influence in the region is a source of concern for the Kingdom.

 The report states that Saudi Arabia sent the deputy defense minister to Khartoum after a tripartite meeting of Turkish, Sudanese and Qatari chiefs of staff in Khartoum on Dec. 26, 2017. This meeting explains the Saudi anger regarding these moves.

 The Sudanese ambassador to Saudi Arabia said in a statement that "Sudan does not threaten Arab security by signing an agreement to rehabilitate the port of Suakin." The embassy's media official Mu'taz Ahmed Ibrahim said that the Sudan is establishing "peaceful relations, without compromising the security of the Arab nation which is a fundamental pillar in the establishment of its external relations, adding that “Swakin is Sudanese and not under the control or rule of any other party.”