Turkish ambassador's vehicle in Sudan hit by gunfire

ANKARA

The official vehicle of Türkiye's ambassador to Sudan was hit by gunfire on Saturday, as fighting continues between the army and a paramilitary group in the capital Khartoum and its surroundings.

No casualties were reported and the source of the gunfire that hit Ismail Cobanoglu's vehicle was unclear, said Turkish diplomatic sources, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Speaking to the reporters, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said: "None of our brothers, ambassadors or other guards, including our special forces, were injured. There is damage to the vehicle."

About the attack, he said: "The clashes sometimes intensify in the street where the Turkish Embassy is located. Tensions and conflicts escalate. Therefore, for the safety of our embassy and our colleagues, we decided to temporarily move our embassy to Port Sudan with the advice of the transitional government."

Cavusoglu said talks with both the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces continue to reveal the motive of the attack.

In Sudan, the army and the paramilitary group blamed each other for the attack targeting the diplomatic vehicle, including the Turkish ambassador to Khartoum.

The incident was "a cowardly act that clearly violated all international norms and agreements," the RSF said in a statement.

Also, criticizing the RSF for the attack, the army said in a statement that RSF forgot that the ambassador could make a statement about what happened.

Fighting between two rival generals – army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo – broke out on April 15, leaving more than 550 people dead and thousands injured so far.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the two sides concerning the integration of the RSF into the armed forces — a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since fall 2021 when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a "coup."

The transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.