Turkish ambassador's vehicle in Sudan hit by gunfire

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) - 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.

Fighting between two rival generals – army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces (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.