KHARTOUM, Sudan
Sudan’s military government has refuted accusations from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that its forces have bombed its ambassador’s residence in Khartoum, pointing instead at the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The UAE earlier on Monday said
the diplomatic post was attacked by a Sudanese military aircraft, condemning it
as a “heinous attack”. The government in Khartoum, which is in the midst of a
new push to retake the capital, has previously accused the UAE of supporting
the RSF, with which it has been entangled in war for more than a year.
“The UAE has called on the
army to assume full responsibility for this cowardly act,” the Middle Eastern
state’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Describing the attack as a
“flagrant violation of the fundamental principle of the inviolability of
diplomatic premises”, the ministry said the attack had caused extensive damage
to the building.
It added that it would send
complaints to the League of Arab States, the African Union and the United
Nations.
In reply, the Sudanese
military released a statement blaming the RSF for carrying out these
“shameful and cowardly acts”.
In a clear dig at its
adversary, with which it has been fighting for control of swaths of Sudan since
April 2023, the army said “it does not target the headquarters of diplomatic
missions, United Nations agencies or voluntary organisations and does not turn
them into military bases and loot their assets.
“The one that carries out
these heinous and cowardly actions is the terrorist, rebel militia (RSF)…
supported in committing all this by countries known to the world,” the
statement said.
The military government
has accused
the UAE of providing weapons and support to the RSF in the war, which
has killed tens of thousands of people and ignited a dire humanitarian crisis.
In June, Sudan’s ambassador to
the United Nations, al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, accused Abu Dhabi of
giving financial and military support to the RSF, and claimed that help was the
“main reason behind this protracted war”.
The Gulf state has called the
allegations “disinformation”, saying its efforts are focused exclusively on
de-escalation and alleviating Sudan’s humanitarian suffering.
However, UN sanctions monitors
have described the accusations that the UAE has provided military support to
the RSF as credible.
The UN says nearly 25 million
people – half of Sudan’s population – need aid, famine is looming and some 8
million people have fled their homes.
Heavy
clashes have raged in several parts of the capital city in recent days
in a major flare-up of hostilities as government forces have launched an assault aimed
at retaking Khartoum.
For the most part, the RSF has
been in firm control of most of the city since the outbreak of hostilities and
has been accused of committing
abuses against the civilian population.
No comments:
Post a Comment