According to the information obtained from diplomatic sources, it was stated that the embassy vehicle in the convoy of Çobanoğlu was opened in Sudan, where the conflicts continued.
While it was recorded that there were no dead or injured in the incident, it was reported that the perpetrators were not yet known.
???? None of our brothers are injured, there is damage to the vehicle.
???? Embassy personnel were moved to a safer area.Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu made a statement on the attack on the embassy vehicle in Sudan.https://t.co/4Qt8SY7B5J pic.twitter.com/CiD0PxQ0EG
— TRT News Live (@trthabercanli) May 6, 2023
The army and the HDK blame each other for the attack
In Sudan, the army and the Rapid Support Forces (HDK) blamed each other for the attack targeting a diplomatic vehicle, including the Turkish Ambassador to Khartoum, İsmail Çobanoğlu.
In the statement made by the HDK regarding the attack, it was stated that the incident was a cowardly act that clearly violated all international norms and agreements.
In the statement, referring to the army, “The coup forces opened fire on the vehicle of Turkish Ambassador İsmail Çobanoğlu in Khartoum, after coordination between the two sides on the evacuation, in a cowardly act that represents a flagrant violation of all international norms and agreements to protect diplomatic missions.” expression was used.
“The Rapid Support Forces reaffirm their full commitment to the protection of diplomatic missions in accordance with the Geneva Convention and all international conventions,” the statement said. statement was included.
In a statement made by the army, claiming that the attack was carried out by the HDK, “HDK forgot that the Ambassador could make a statement about what happened.” expression was used.
Çavuşoğlu: We will temporarily move our embassy to Port Sudan
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that the clashes between the Army and the Rapid Support Forces took place right in the middle of the city.
Stating that the clashes sometimes escalate in the streets where the Turkish Embassy is located, Çavuşoğlu stated that for this reason, they could not reach the desired speed in providing some services to the citizens, especially in the first days. Stating that the citizen who took shelter in a house a few streets away had difficulties even coming to the embassy, Çavuşoğlu said:
“Afterwards, there were ceasefire declarations. We evacuated our citizens, our citizens who wanted to return. We evacuated through Egypt, mostly Ethiopia and Port Sudan, Saudi Arabia. Now this is a ceasefire, but both sides blame each other, there are violations. Tensions are escalating elsewhere. As a result, we decided to temporarily move our embassy to Port Sudan, with the advice of the army’s transitional government for the safety of our embassy and our colleagues. Of course, our friends took all the necessary equipment and supplies they needed there, such as a computer, from our embassy, and went to Port Sudan. They were going to move to. There is no injury to any of them, there is damage to the vehicle. Now who did this? Why did he do it? Of course, negotiations are continuing on both sides.”
Expressing that he also talked to Ambassador Çobanoğlu on the phone, Çavuşoğlu continued his words as follows:
“No one of our citizens has suffered any injuries. So no one should worry. Now, of course, our friends immediately withdrew from there. They went to a safer place. We will take our friends from here and move our embassy to Port Sudan temporarily. Here, especially if there are citizens who want to return, they will also be more secure. “We will bring it to Turkey safely with the most appropriate method, just as we brought it to Turkey before. We will serve our citizens from there, but now it is important for our friends to leave here with the necessary materials, also for their safety. We follow that as well.”
Stating that the ambassador is continuing his contacts, Çavuşoğlu stated that he will inform them if needed. Çavuşoğlu noted that the civil war affected everyone.
Clashes between the army and the HDK in Sudan
The disagreement over the last few months over the “military security reform”, which envisaged the full participation of the HDK in Sudan, which was established in 2013 to support the government forces against the armed rebels in the Darfur region, turned into a hot conflict as of the morning of April 15.
The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that General Abdulfettah al-Burhan, the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council and the Commander of the Army, decided to dissolve the HDK, which clashed with the army, and to declare it a “rebel force against the state”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the number of people who lost their lives in the ongoing conflict increased to 551, and 4 thousand 926 people were injured.