Sudan: Army and RSF point fingers after refinery fire
The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on January 23rd accused one another of launching an attack on the Khartoum refinery located in Al-Jaili, Reuters reported.
Both the army and the forces, which is led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo have exchanged accusations since the civil conflict began nearly two years ago.
In a post on X, the Sudanese army said: “The terrorist militia militia of Al-Dagalo deliberately set fire to the Khartoum refinery in Al-Jaili this morning in a desperate attempt to destroy the infrastructures of this country, after despairing of achieving its illusions of seizing its resources and land.”
The RSF also accused the army of targeting the refinery with airstrikes.
In a statement, The RSF said: “The ongoing aerial bombardment of the refinery, the latest of which was this morning, which led to its destruction, represents a full-fledged war crime.”
Earlier in January, the army and its allies reclaimed the state capital Wad Madani from the RSF. This could be seen as a potential turning point for the ongoing ethnically-driven brutality, which has resulted in the world’s biggest internal displacement crisis.
The army and the RSF had previously joined forces in a coup in 2021, toppling Sudan’s civilian government. However, the alliance disintegrated less than two years later over plans to merge their forces.
The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 in Khartoum, has driven half of Sudan’s population into hunger.
Reuters
