Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The New York Times reported on Tuesday evening, citing several sources, that the head of the European Union's humanitarian mission in Sudan, Wim Fransen, was shot in Khartoum. His injuries are said to be serious but not life threatening. According to what was reported today, Wednesday, by the Belgian news agency in Brussels, and added, "
Fransen of Belgium lost his citizenship on Sunday night as fighting intensified in the Sudanese capital. His colleagues at the European Union Delegation in Khartoum went looking for him and found him on Tuesday. According to the New York Times, his injuries are serious but not life-threatening.
About 200 people have been killed since clashes erupted in Khartoum on Saturday between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Fighting was still raging on Tuesday night, despite earlier reports of a temporary respite, and embassies told their staff to take cover from the violence.
On Monday, EU Ambassador Aidan O'Hara, a diplomat from Ireland, was attacked at his residence by gunmen who threatened him with weapons and stole money.
The EU officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said the attackers were identified by their uniforms as belonging to the Rapid Support Forces, according to The New York Times. The RSF is made up mainly of former members of the Janjaweed militia, which gained notoriety in the war in Darfur, western Sudan.
The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, called the attack a "flagrant violation" of the Vienna Convention. "Security of diplomatic premises and personnel is a primary responsibility of the Sudanese authorities and an obligation under international law," he wrote on Twitter on Monday.
A US embassy convoy came under fire in the Sudanese capital on Monday.
The warring sides failed to honor a three-hour ceasefire earlier Sunday night, while subsequent ceasefires met the same fate.
On Tuesday, Reporters Without Borders accused the Sudanese army of violating the recent ceasefire.