Sudan begins relocating Al-Yarmook arms factory out of populated areas – official

November 25, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The governor of Khartoum State, Abdel Rahman Al-Khidir, has announced the commencement of an operation to relocate arms-manufacturing units of Al-Yarmook military factory away from populated areas in the capital Khartoum, one month after the facility was hit in an airstrike Sudan accuses Israel of conducting.

Addressing a rally held on Saturday to condemn the Israeli “aggression” that pulverized storage containers of the plant in the southern suburbs of Khartoum, killed three people and caused panic in nearby residential areas on 23 October, the governor said that the authorities had officially started construction of a new headquarters for the factory away from residential areas in order to resume its production in the upcoming period.

Al-Khidir did not, however, indicate where the new location will be or whether it will be within the boundaries of Khartoum state. The governor added that a committee had been formed to seek out ways of compensating citizens whose properties were affected in the airstrike. Several buildings close to the site of the attack sustained damages.

Israel neither denied nor confirmed responsibility for the airstrike but the Jewish state accuses Sudan of being an ally of its arch enemy Iran as well as a conduit for arms smuggling activities toward the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

(ST)