UN condemns attack on Turkish diplomatic convoy in Sudan, calls for thorough investigation

By Betul Yuruk

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - The UN on Monday condemned a weekend attack on a Turkish diplomatic convoy in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

For weeks the conflict-hit African nation has been engulfed by fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

"We condemn all attacks on diplomatic personnel, including the one on the Turkish diplomatic convoy over the weekend," UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told Anadolu.

"All such attacks must be thoroughly investigated."

The official vehicle of Turkish Ambassador to Sudan Ismail Cobanoglu was hit by gunfire in Khartoum on Saturday, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

No casualties were reported and the source of the gunfire was not yet clear. The warring Sudanese army and the RSF paramilitaries blamed each other for the attack.

Since April 15, more than 550 people have been killed and thousands injured in fighting between two rival generals – army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo.

Disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the two sides over 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, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.