Sudan Accuses Israel
Of Bombing Arms Factory

In a serious development that could have some spillover effects, Sudan accused Israel of striking the Yarmouk arms factory south of the capital, Khartoum. The attack partially destroyed the factory and killed two people.

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Summary : Sudan accused Israel of bombing the Yarmouk arms factory south of Khartoum in an attack that killed two people, Al-Nour Ahmad Al-Nour reports. Sudan said it would file a complaint with the UN Security Council and reserved the right to strike back “twofold.” Publisher: Al-Hayat (Pan Arab) Original Title: Israeli Air Strike Destroyed A Military Factory Near Khartoum Author: Al-Nour Ahmad Al-Nour First Published: October 25, 2012 Posted on: October 25 2012 Translated by: Joelle El-Khoury Categories : Israel   Security Sudan

Sudan proclaimed that its government will take the Hebrew state to the United Nations Security Council and reserves the right to strike back “at the appropriate place and time.” The Sudanese cabinet held an emergency meeting last night to announce a mobilization plan in the Sudanese states.

Al-Hayat learned that the US Embassy in Khartoum was closed yesterday [Oct. 24], having suspended operations after being stormed by indignant protesters over the movie insulting Islam last month.

Some in Khartoum have speculated that the US resorting to closing its embassy indicates that the US probably knew in advance that Israel was behind the attack and feared reactions to it.

Huge explosions rocked Khartoum in the early-morning hours on Wednesday. The sound came from the Yarmouk factory, situated some 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of the capital.

The huge explosions caused windows to shatter over a wide area surrounding the site, including al-Kalakala, Javra, al-Azhari and Sahafa Streets. This caused panic and prompted some people to leave their homes, especially after flames rose up and covered large parts of the main storage room, causing ammunition and missiles to fly in all directions.

In a press conference, Information Minister Ahmed Bilal said that four Israeli planes struck the military factory, having approached the site from the east. He explained that the sophisticated technology of the planes enabled them to penetrate the airspace without being detected by radar.

He said that some parts of the conventional weapons factory were entirely destroyed, while other parts suffered partial damage.

Bilal added that the attack targeted Sudan, adding: “We reserve the right to respond at a place and time of our choosing.”

He noted that his country intends to file a complaint against Israel with the UN Security Council, despite the conviction that it will achieve nothing.

The minister stressed that the factory does not manufacture any prohibited weapons, and is not an “underground factory. The manufacturing of conventional weapons is a national right.”

He warned that this “cowardly act turns Sudan into a confrontational state and we will take all measures to clarify Sudan’s position to the international community and the UN Security Council.”

Bilal warned that “although Sudan does not possess military means equivalent to those of Israel, we reserve the right to use our own means to strike back twofold.”

In a joint press conference with the information minister, Sudanese military spokesman Col. Al-Sawarmi Khalid Saad did not rule out the possibility that the air force might be have been infiltrated by Israel.

He said that such an infiltration was possible: “The Sudanese army is not isolated from the world’s armies that could infiltrate it.”

He stressed that the armed forces have very efficient divisions that seek to avoid such infiltrations, noting that military intelligence was able to reveal the circumstances of the attack in a short period of time.

Some Israeli websites noted that the 13th Battalion of the Israeli air force bombed the Yarmouk facility, claiming that it was providing Hamas with war equipment. Israel reportedly believed that the factory was funded by Iran to supply Hamas with the weapons and missiles that have been used to bomb Israeli territory.

Israel has struck eastern Sudan three times over the past three years. 

In May 2001, Israel bombed a car, killing a businessman in Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast. In April 2011, it bombed a car near the airport in Sudan's main port city of Port Sudan, killing two people. In 2009, Israel attacked a convoy in the Red Sea province, killing dozens of passengers.

Israeli intelligence services infiltrated Sudan a long time ago, when the Mossad — under the cover of a Bulgarian company — built the Arous tourist village on the Red Sea coast in the early 1980s and used it as a base to deport Ethiopian Jews to Israel, under an agreement with some figures within former president Gaafar Nimeiri’s regime.