Islamic bloc slams attack on Saudi cultural office in Sudan

By Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) – The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday condemned the storming of Saudi Arabia’s cultural attaché building in the Sudanese capital.

The Saudi cultural attaché office in Khartoum was stormed on Tuesday by an armed group that destroyed equipment and cameras and seized some of the property.

“The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the storming of the Cultural Attaché building of Saudi Arabia in the Sudanese capital Khartoum by an armed group,” the pan-Islamic grouping said in a statement.

The OIC called for ending violence in conflict-weary Sudan, respecting the sanctity of diplomatic missions and providing the necessary protection for diplomats.

At least 550 people have been killed and more than 4,900 injured in the fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 15, according to Sudan’s Health Ministry.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the paramilitary force regarding the RSF’s integration into the armed forces, a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 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.”

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