Sudan: Israel behind airstrike
Khartoum's FM says country has proof Israel carried out mysterious air raid near Port Sudan, which left two dead; stresses reason remains unknown. Israeli Foreign Ministry, IDF remain tight-lipped
Sudan's Foreign Minister Ali Karti on Wednesday accused Israel of carrying out a strike on a car near Port Sudan that killed two people.
In a press conference held in Khartoum, Karti said his government "has proof Israel carried this attack. We are absolutely certain of it, but we don’t know the reason."
The foreign minister added that the two men killed were civilians, whose identities have yet to be verified.
Israel, he said, "Has been blaming Sudan for aiding Islamist groups. That is not true. Perhaps Israel wants to justify its actions by making such accusations."
Sudanese police said a missile struck the car near the port city on Tuesday night. A state government official, however, said the strike was carried out by a "foreign aircraft" that flew in from the Red Sea.
According to reports, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor and the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit declined to comment on the accusation.
Khartoum alleges that this is the second mysterious shelling on Sudanese soil: In January 2009, a convoy of arms smugglers was hit by an unidentified aircraft in Sudan's eastern Red Sea. January's strike was also attributed to Israel.
Mid-night bombing
According to Sudanese media, a mysterious airstrike took place near the airport in Sudan's main port city of Port Sudan on Tuesday night.
According to Parliament Speaker Ahmed Tahir, an unidentified "foreign plane" flew in from the direction of the Red Sea and struck a car driving in the vicinity of the airport.
Several images of the scene, released by state media Wednesday, show the wreckage of the car in which the two alleged targets were driving.
Stat media reported that the Sudanese military directed anti-aircraft fire at the aircraft and chased it out of Sudanese air space, adding the action "confirmed it was a foreign plane."
Reuters contributed to this report
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