BICOM

Sudan yesterday accused Israel of carrying out an air strike which caused a huge explosion and a fire at the Yarmouk arms factory in Khartoum late on Tuesday night.

The fire at Sudan’s main factory for ammunition and small arms took two hours to extinguish and killed two people. Journalists were shown a video from the site which reportedly showed a huge crater next to two damaged buildings and the apparent remains of a rocket.

The country’s Information Minister Ahmed Belal Osman told reporters, “Four military planes attacked the Yarmouk plant … We believe that Israel is behind it.” Meanwhile AFP reported that Sudan’s envoy Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman told a United Nations Security Council meeting, “Four Israeli aircraft invaded our airspace and perpetrated this heinous attack” and called upon the Security Council to condemn the alleged air strike. Israeli officials have not responded to the accusations. Defence Minister Ehud Barak told Channel Two, “There is nothing I can say about this subject.”

Sudan is widely believed to be a conduit for arms into Hamas-controlled Gaza via neighbouring Egypt. Sudan has blamed Israel for previous incidents within its borders, including the bombing of a convoy in the east of the country in 2009. Last year, the Sudanese authorities also accused Israel of carrying out an air strike that destroyed a vehicle near Port Sudan on the Red Sea. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is one of the few Arab leaders to maintain good diplomatic relations with Iran. Sudan has signed a series of military co-operation agreements with Tehran.