Sudanese defense minister vows to repel any future attack by Israel

April 9, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese defense minister Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein commented for the first time on the air strike that took place near the coastal city of Port Sudan that was blamed on Israel.

Hussein was quoted by the Sudanese Media Center (SMC) as saying that the government “is aware of all the dimensions related to the incident”.

He was speaking during his visit today to Port Sudan along with a high-level military delegation from the defense ministry to inspect units stationed in the Red Sea state and also examine the scene of the attack against a Hyundai Sonata vehicle killing its two passengers.

The victims were identified as Eissa Ahmed Hadab from Al-Amrar tribe and his personal driver Ahmed Gibreel.

The government denied any links between the two men and Islamist groups.

Gibreel was a businessmen from an Egyptian-Sudanese tribe in Red Sea state who had lived in Egypt for many years before returning to Sudan in 2009, a political activist in the region told Agence France Presse (AFP). Hadab, the car’s driver, was a fisherman and also from eastern Sudan, the activist added.

It was initially believed that Israel’s plot targeted a Palestinian military commander in the Islamic militant group Hamas by the name of Abdel-Latif Al-Ashqar who was reportedly responsible for operations related to acquiring armaments.

But Al-Ashqar’s uncle told reporters that his nephew escaped the assassination attempt.

The Sudanese defense minister who paid condolences to the families of the victims said that he discussed with security agencies the precautions taken to prevent the repetition of such attacks and vowed to secure the Red Sea area despite having long coastlines.

Hussein claimed that the attack took place because of Sudan’s commitment to Islamic Sharia’a law and the cause of the Palestinian people. He pledged to the citizens of the state that the army will “stop violations by the Mossad [Israeli intelligence] in East Sudan”.

The top military official met with air defense commanders and stopped by the Flamingo military base to review the air defenses.

The army spokesperson Al-Sawarmi Khalid who accompanied Hussein told SMC that the air strike was carried out by two planes that entered Sudan’s air space using jamming technology and bombed the car in two minutes before heading back.

He made no mention of Sudanese air defenses firing at the planes as was reported earlier this week by SMC.

The Sudanese foreign ministry also issued a statement with further details saying that two Israeli Apache helicopters fired rockets and bullets into the vehicle. It added that three rockets were found at the scene that did not explode as well as ballistics.

The ministry revealed that it has launched a diplomatic offensive to get Arab, African and Islamic support through contacting the respective regional organizations. The Sudanese ambassador at the United Nations is working on drafting a formal complaint to present to the UN Security council (UNSC), the statement added.

Furthermore, the ministry said that Sudan will bring up the issue before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to condemn the Israeli aggression.

Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have neither confirmed nor denied their involvement in line with its long-standing policy of maintaining silence on its external operations.

However, Israeli intelligence sources told AFP on Thursday that a truck carrying weapons, which was being escorted by the car, had been hit in the strike. Photos from the scene only showed the car and no mention was made of a separate truck.

U.S. State Department leaked cables showed Washington warned Sudan in January 2009 not to allow the delivery of unspecified Iranian arms that were expected to be passed to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

It was around that time when Israel launched a discreet air strike against an arms convoy in East Sudan that was exposed only two months later. Sudan at the time said that 119 illegal immigrants who were trying to sneak into Europe were killed as a result.

Last month, the Egyptian media quoting army sources said that it had shelled a convoy of vehicles laden with arms near the Sudanese border. No further details were given and Khartoum has reportedly asked for clarifications from Cairo.

Officials in Khartoum are worried that this incident may stall a process that was intimated this year by the United States to remove Sudan from the countries that sponsor terrorism which as promised as a reward for facilitating the referendum in the South and recognizing its results.

To be eligible for de-listing, Sudan is required not to be supporting international terrorism for the preceding six months and providing assurance it will not support such acts in the future

Khartoum enjoys good relations with Hamas and its leaders frequently visit Sudan and meet with senior government officials. It is hailed in state media as a resistance movement against the Jewish state.

(ST)