Air strikes and artillery exchanges between Sudan’s warring factions rocked Khartoum on Saturday.
Qatar has condemned the attack on its embassy by armed militias in Khartoum on Saturday.
“The State of Qatar condemned in the strongest terms the irregular armed forces’ storming and vandalising its embassy building in Khartoum,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The statement emphasised the importance of protecting embassies, diplomatic missions, international organisation headquarters and civilian facilities from the consequences of the fighting in Sudan, as well as prosecuting and holding the perpetrators accountable for these heinous criminal acts, which violate international law and agreements.
The ministry reaffirmed Doha’s position in calling for an immediate halt to the fighting in Sudan, exercising maximum restraint and protecting civilians from the violence.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) also strongly condemned the storming and vandalism of the Qatari embassy building in Khartoum.
GCC Secretary-General Jassem Al-Budaiwi urged both sides to act quickly to halt military operations, exercise maximum restraint and respect international agreements and diplomatic norms that ensure the sanctity and safety of diplomatic missions’ premises and employees as well as spare civilians the effects of the conflict.
He further urged all parties to the conflict to participate actively in the Jeddah talks in order to reach a comprehensive political declaration that ensures Sudan’s security, stability and prosperity.
Qatar has not blamed any group for the attack, however, officials loyal to General Abdel Fattah Burhan issued a statement accusing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo of carrying out the attack.
Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey’s embassies were also targeted in recent weeks.
The attack on Saturday comes a day after the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, where leaders renewed calls for a truce between the two sides in Sudan’s conflict.
After weeks of open combat, Burhan formally fired his former ally Daglo as his deputy on Friday and appointed three allies to high military positions.
According to eyewitnesses, some of the strikes occurred near Sudan’s state broadcaster in Omdurman. Other reported strikes occurred in southern Omdurman and northern Bahri.
Bahri and Omdurman are located across the White Nile from Khartoum and are part of the Khartoum metropolitan area.
According to Reuters, eyewitnesses in Khartoum said the situation was relatively calm, with sporadic gunshots heard.
Sudan’s conflict began on 15 April and has displaced nearly 1.1 million people. According to the World Health Organisation, 705 people have been killed as a result of the fighting.
