Iranian warships dock in Sudan amid row with Israel over factory blast
(Al Arabyia) Two Iranian navy vessels docked at a Sudan port on Monday, just five days after the explosion at an arms factory in Khartoum, media reports said. The Iranian official news agency IRNA reported that the ‘Shahid Naqdi’ corvette and a freighter left from a port in southern Iran last month, passed through the Red Sea and docked at a port in Sudan. The Iranian ships arrived to “convey a message of peace and friendship to the region’s countries and to provide safety at sea in light of maritime terrorism,” the report by IRNA said. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said the vessels docked in Port Sudan on the Red Sea. The Iranian commanders of the fleet are scheduled to meet with Sudanese Navy commanders during their stay in the North African country, Press TV reported.
Rebels in Sudan’s Darfur say they shelled state capital
(Reuters) Rebels in Sudan’s Darfur region said on Sunday they had shelled a state capital, in a rare attack on the government stronghold where international peacekeepers are also based. The government did not immediately comment on the report and the claim could not be immediately independently verified. War has ravaged Darfur since rebels took up arms in 2003, complaining the central government had neglected the region. The United States and the International Criminal Court accuse Sudan’s government of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.
Sudan’s NCP vows to continue its support to Palestinians
(Sudan Tribune) Presidential assistant and deputy chairman of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), Nafie Ali Nafie said on Sunday that Sudan will not stop its support to its “brothers in Palestine” after an air attack on an ammunition factory in Khartoum last week. Sudan accused Israel of bombing a military plant in Khartoum on Tuesday 25 October, but Tel Aviv refused to acknowledge the attack and termed Sudan as a “dangerous terrorist state”. The former accuse the latter of backing Hamas which carries regular rocket attacks on Israeli settlements in Gaza strip. Nafie who was speaking in reception organized on the occasion of Eid-al-Adha attended by leaders of allied parties, praised the Sudanese people and political forces for their “steadfastness and determination” to face “challenges and conspiracies” against Sudan and aiming to destroy its “comprehensive project”, as he said. Analyst agree that the attack serves Khartoum’s propaganda of “external enemies” aiming to arouse nationalist feelings and rally popular support despite its repressive policy and the different internal wars.
Sudan military factory on fire again
(AFP) Fire erupted again late on Monday at a Sudanese military factory which the government accused Israel of attacking with missiles last week, the army said. “There is no new attack but the fire broke out again. It began in some places not tended by firemen before,” Sawarmi Khaled Saad, the Sudanese army spokesman, was quoted as saying by the official SUNA news agency. Residents of the area told AFP they saw smoke over the Yarmouk facility in the south of the capital Khartoum. Explosions and fire spread through the Yarmouk compound at about midnight last Tuesday, after people in the neighbourhood reported an aircraft or missile had flown overhead. The government, blaming Israel, said four radar-evading aircraft had attacked the plant which it said makes “traditional weapons.” But a top Israeli defense official, Amos Gilad, said last week that Sudan “serves as a route for the transfer, via Egyptian territory, of Iranian weapons to Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists.”
Sudan defense minister vows to crush rebels
(Sudan Tribune) The Sudanese minister of defense, Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein, has vowed to pulverize rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) after they shelled the capital of South Kordofan during his ongoing visit. The minister accompanied by the chief of staff of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the director-general of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) Mohammed Atta last Saturday visited South Kordofan capital Kadugli which recently came under bold attacks by the SPLM-N. SPLM-N spokesperson Arnu Loddi said that they shelled army positions inside Kadugli on Friday following renewed aerial bombardment by government forces on their positions. Reports from the ground indicate that the shelling occurred while Hussein was addressing worshippers following Eid prayer.
Sudan defense minister unlikely to face backlash
(Sudan Tribune) Sudan Defense Minister Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein is unlikely to be sacked over the alleged Israeli attack on Al-Yarmouk military factory, an official said on Sunday amid growing demands that he walks the plank for failing to protect the country. According to the speaker of the parliament, Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Tahir, there is no intention to relieve Hussein from his position or hold him accountable for the occurrence of the attack. Al-Tahir also justified the lack of intention to punish Hussein by saying that Sudan is not able to have the same level of technology that Israel possesses. Hussein has not made a single comment since the attack on Al-Yarmouk happened. This is not the first time that some people called for his resignation but others suggest that his close relationship with President Al-Bashir always shielded him from being held accountable. Sudan Foreign Minister Ali Karti was quoted on Sunday by the country’s official news agency SUNA that his country has started diplomatic efforts to inform friendly countries and regional and international organizations about the details of the attack.