Jordanian embassy in Khartoum ransacked as Sudan fighting rages

Sudanese military planes hit paramilitary targets in Khartoum from the air as civil war grinds on

An evacuation in southern Khartoum, on May 14, 2023. AFP

The Jordanian embassy in Khartoum was “overrun and sabotaged” on Monday, the kingdom's foreign ministry said, as the Sudanese army conducted air raids against Rapid Support Forces targets in the capital.

No Jordanian diplomats were harmed as none were there, with Jordan having moved staff to the nearby city of Port Sudan weeks ago.

An official from the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates told state television that the “Jordanian diplomatic mission in Sudan is all right”.

“The embassy's building in Khartoum was overrun and sabotaged,” an official Jordanian statement said, without naming the perpetrators.

“The foreign ministry condemns the assault, and all forms of sabotage and violence, especially those targeting diplomatic missions.”

Sudan is in the midst of a civil war that began last month, with the army pitted against the paramilitary RSF. The violence has killed several hundred people and injured thousands more.

Jordan's air force has evacuated hundreds of Jordanians and others by air from Sudan over the past few weeks, and the kingdom has called for an end to the violence.

Sudanese army planes raided the north of Khartoum on Monday, striking RSF targets around a hospital that was damaged by the bombing, Reuters reported, quoting witnesses.

Last week, Saudi Arabia and the US supervised talks between the army and the RSF in Jeddah, with negotiations aimed at humanitarian access and a ceasefire.

But battles have continued to rage in Khartoum and its sister cities of Bahri and Omdurman.

While the fighting has spread to the western region of Darfur, it has been concentrated in the capital, where RSF fighters have taken up positions across neighbourhoods and the army has used air strikes and heavy artillery fire against them.

One witness said fear is gripping Bahri.

“We're under heavy bombardment now in Sharq El Nil and Rapid Support are responding with anti-aircraft guns,” said 55-year-old Awatef Saleh.

“All this is happening near our homes. We're in a state of terror and fear.”

Agencies contributed to this report