KHARTOUM

Sudan has summoned Libya's ambassador to the country to demand the release of a Sudanese consul who is being held in Libya's eastern cityof Benghazi.

"The Foreign Ministry has summoned the Libyan ambassador in Khartoum to demand the unconditional release of the consul," ministry spokesman Ali Asadeq said Wednesday.

He said the consul, Abdel-Halim Omar, was detained by Libyan police on Tuesday as he was checking in on Sudanese nationals being held at a Libyan prison in the central Al-Baydaa province.

"The Foreign Ministry is making intensive efforts to release the consul," the spokesman said.

He went on to describe the consul's detention as a "violation of international law".

"This behavior does not take into consideration bilateral relations between Khartoum and Tripoli," he said, adding that his government has lodged a protest with the Libyan ambassador at "the targeting of Sudanese diplomat".

Libya's Tobruk-based government accuses Sudan of supporting Islamist militias in the fractious North African country – claims dismissed by Khartoum.

Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since a bloody uprising ended the decades-long rule of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in late 2011.

Since then, the country's stark political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, each with its own institutions and military capacities.

Vying for legislative authority are the Tobruk-based House of Representatives and the Islamist-led General National Congress, which convenes in capital Tripoli.

The two assemblies support two rival governments respectively headquartered in the two cities