Sudan Insurgents Raid and Loot Zim Embassy
Brian Rungano Temba
Sudanese insurgents robbed and raided the Zimbabwean Embassy office and residency of Ambassador Hilda Mafudze.
In a communique on Tuesday, Sudan’s foreign ministry condemned the raid of Zimbabwe’s embassy and the ambassador’s house in the capital Khartoum by the feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which is locked in a vicious war between the Sudanese armies.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns in the strongest terms the rapid support militia’s storming of the embassy and the home of the Zimbabwean ambassador, and the theft of valuables, in flagrant violation of international norms and laws concerned with the sanctity and protection of the headquarters and property of diplomatic missions.
“The Ministry calls on the international community to condemn the terrorist and criminal behaviour of the militia,” it said.
Sudan is currently on a 72-hour ceasefire aimed at calming more than two months of conflict between rival Sudanese military factions.
The Northeast African country is in the middle of a bitter war pitting army and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The RSF is no ordinary fighting force – they evolved from one of the most notorious militias in Africa; the Janjaweed, which committed genocide in Darfur.
An estimated 300 000 people were killed in the conflict between 2003 and 2008, while 2.5 million more were displaced, according to the United Nations.
The belligerent forces have agreed to pause the armed conflict under a fragile ceasefire deal brokered by Saudi and US mediators.
However, previous attempts to broker a truce between the forces have been violated as the rivals have continued shelling each other.
The power struggle between the two sides has turned the capital into a war zone plagued by looting.
The conflict erupted from disputes over a plan for a transition to elections under a civilian government, four years after long-serving autocrat Omar al-Bashir was overthrown during a popular uprising.
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