The Israel Air Force struck two weapons convoys traveling in Sudan on their way
to the Gaza Strip over the past month, according to Sudanese media reports over
the weekend.
According to the reports, denied by the Sudanese armed
forces, the planes attacked a convoy of jeeps in eastern Sudan last week killing
a number of people. Another strike reportedly took place earlier in the month
against a truck near the border with Egypt, and in a third incident a helicopter
was reported to have been spotted over an island near Sudan.
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has never confirmed nor denied its involvement in any of the air strikes, the
Israeli navy has been reported to be operating more frequently in the Red Sea in
recent years as part of Israeli efforts to curb Iranian arms smuggling to Hamas
and Hezbollah.
According to Sudanese newspaper
al-Rakoba, one of the
strikes targeted a convoy of vehicles near Sudan’s border with Egypt, in Wadi
Allaqi in the Hala’ib triangle region, an area whose sovereignty is under
dispute by Egypt and Sudan.
Two cars – a Land Cruiser and a Toyota Hilux
– were reportedly attacked and two people were killed.
Several of the
wounded fled in the direction of the Sudanese border, according to
al-Rakoba.
The report also said eyewitnesses reported seeing the Egyptian air force fly
over the area several times.
Sudanese army spokesman Col. Alsoarma
Khaled Saad said there was no indication the air strikes took place.
“We
do not have assurances on that aggression,” he was quoted as
saying.
Arabic news outlet
Dar al-Hayyat reported on “conflicting
information” regarding the alleged Israeli air strikes. According to the report,
the governor of Sudan’s Red Sea state district received notification from
several citizens in the region that the IAF had bombed smuggler
convoys.
The report noted however that hospitals in the region did not
report treating any of the wounded from the strikes.
Earlier this year,
Sudanese media claimed the IAF attacked a car traveling near the city of Port
Sudan, killing people involved in the smuggling of arms to the Strip. In
February, Israel was also reported to have bombed an arms ship near Sudan. In
2009, media in the US and England reported on another Israeli strike in Sudan
against a convoy of close to 20 trucks carrying weapons to Hamas during
Operation Cast Lead.
Sudan is believed to be a key conduit for weapons
bound for Gaza and ships are reported to dock in Port Sudan, unload their cargo
onto the back of trucks, which then carry the weapons to the Egypt-Gaza border
where they are smuggled into Gaza via the network of tunnels controlled by
Hamas.