Sudan Loses Another Arms Factory

Local officials and residents of the Sudanese city of Omdurman, just outside of the capital of Khartoum, claim that foreign military aircraft struck a local military installation Tuesday night. The Sudanese military have made an official statement that at least one foreign aircraft entered Sudanese airspace in the Khartoum area, but was forced to withdraw after being fired upon by anti-air weapons. However, eye witnesses and media in the area state that the facility was in fact bombed, allegedly by aircraft coming from the direction of Israel.

Israel has conducted air strikes on Sudanese military installations and arms factories in the past, as Sudan has often served as a supply source and way station for arms from Iran sent to Hamas. In 2012 combat aircraft, believed to be from the Israeli Air Force, bombed the Yarmouk arms factory south of Khartoum. Some reports have claimed that Yarmouk was owned by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and was producing arms for Hamas and other Iranian proxies. Sudan has had a lengthy history of aiding terrorism.

London’s Arabic-language news source Al-Araby Al-Jadeed has stated that the alleged Israeli airstrike hit an arms factory that produced Scud missiles and advanced weaponry, a rocket storage site, as well as a convoy heading from Omdurman to Khartoum. The Sudanese armed forces would later claim that they shot down an Israeli UAV. Though the claim has been repeated on the Hezbollah affiliated TV channel Al-Maydayeen and others, the report has not been officially confirmed. Thus far, the Israeli government has not confirmed or denied that they were responsible for the airstrike, as is standard policy for Israel.

Historically, Israel has used airstrikes and other direct action, both in Sudan and also along the Syrian border, primarily to prevent groups like Hamas and Hezbollah from receiving more advanced arms and equipment from Iran. The timing of the strike is particularly significant, as Sudan is a member of the Saudi-led Decisive Storm operation against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, a move which many identified as a possible split with Tehran.