Sudanese media report on Israeli air strikes

IAF planes allegedly attack convoy of land cruiser jeeps, number of people reportedly killed.

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK SND YAAKOV KATZ
Sudan strike (photo credit: Channel 10)
Sudan strike
(photo credit: Channel 10)
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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While Israel 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.