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| Israel accused of air strike on Sudan munitions factory | Israel accused of air strike on Sudan munitions factory |
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| Sudan has complained to the UN security council that Israeli planes bombed a munitions plant in Khartoum, an attack that has been widely interpreted as a warning to Iran over its nuclear programme. | Sudan has complained to the UN security council that Israeli planes bombed a munitions plant in Khartoum, an attack that has been widely interpreted as a warning to Iran over its nuclear programme. |
| Israeli military commentators said that the Yarmouk facility in the Sudanese capital was owned by Iran and had been used to supply weapons to Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip. The "impressive" reach of the secret operation was said to have demonstrated an ability to hit Iran's nuclear facilities — a similar distance from Israel. | Israeli military commentators said that the Yarmouk facility in the Sudanese capital was owned by Iran and had been used to supply weapons to Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip. The "impressive" reach of the secret operation was said to have demonstrated an ability to hit Iran's nuclear facilities — a similar distance from Israel. |
| As reverberations continued from Tuesday's 1,000-mile attack, Israel would neither confirm nor deny it was involved. Ehud Barak, the defence minister, said : "There is nothing I can say about this subject." But one of his most senior officials praised the country's air force and called Sudan a "terrorist state". | As reverberations continued from Tuesday's 1,000-mile attack, Israel would neither confirm nor deny it was involved. Ehud Barak, the defence minister, said : "There is nothing I can say about this subject." But one of his most senior officials praised the country's air force and called Sudan a "terrorist state". |
| Sudan's UN ambassador, Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, called on the security council to condemn the raid as "a blatant violation of the concept of peace and security". Iran also denounced Israel, as did Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia movement with close links to Tehran. | Sudan's UN ambassador, Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, called on the security council to condemn the raid as "a blatant violation of the concept of peace and security". Iran also denounced Israel, as did Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia movement with close links to Tehran. |
| Sudan's culture and information minister, Ahmed Bilal Osman, had said earlier that four radar-evading aircraft carried out an attack around midnight on Tuesday. "We think Israel did the bombing," he said. "We reserve the right to react at a place and time we choose." | Sudan's culture and information minister, Ahmed Bilal Osman, had said earlier that four radar-evading aircraft carried out an attack around midnight on Tuesday. "We think Israel did the bombing," he said. "We reserve the right to react at a place and time we choose." |
| Sudan's state news agency said the planes used "hi-tech jamming devices" in the attack and a Sudanese reporter told Israel's Haaretz newspaper that there was a telecommunications blackout for about an hour before the explosions. | Sudan's state news agency said the planes used "hi-tech jamming devices" in the attack and a Sudanese reporter told Israel's Haaretz newspaper that there was a telecommunications blackout for about an hour before the explosions. |
| "There are two arms factories in this area of the strike: one is the Yarmouk factory, the other is the Sudan Technical Centre," a UN source told the Guardian. "We don't know for certain if they are making weapons or manufacturing ammunition. At the very minimum they are repackaging munitions produced elsewhere. Yarmouk is sponsored by Iran. The Sudan Technical Centre is definitely handling Chinese weapons." | "There are two arms factories in this area of the strike: one is the Yarmouk factory, the other is the Sudan Technical Centre," a UN source told the Guardian. "We don't know for certain if they are making weapons or manufacturing ammunition. At the very minimum they are repackaging munitions produced elsewhere. Yarmouk is sponsored by Iran. The Sudan Technical Centre is definitely handling Chinese weapons." |
| Israel has long accused Khartoum of serving as a base for Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip. "Sudan is a dangerous terrorist state," Amos Gilad, an influential former general and senior defence ministry official, told Israel's Army Radio. | Israel has long accused Khartoum of serving as a base for Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip. "Sudan is a dangerous terrorist state," Amos Gilad, an influential former general and senior defence ministry official, told Israel's Army Radio. |
| There was a strong sense that Israel was also sending a blunt message to Iran. Ron Ben-Yishai, a veteran military commentator, wrote in daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth: "There is no doubt that the explosion in Khartoum will be food for thought not only for the authorities in Sudan but also in Gaza – and especially in Tehran." | There was a strong sense that Israel was also sending a blunt message to Iran. Ron Ben-Yishai, a veteran military commentator, wrote in daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth: "There is no doubt that the explosion in Khartoum will be food for thought not only for the authorities in Sudan but also in Gaza – and especially in Tehran." |
| Ephraim Inbar, a strategic expert, said: "It is very plausible that Israel was behind the strike. We have operated in that region in response to a variety of intelligence reports in the past. We definitely have the capability [to launch such a strike]. It seems an easy operation, involving four jets. For us it would be a piece of cake." | Ephraim Inbar, a strategic expert, said: "It is very plausible that Israel was behind the strike. We have operated in that region in response to a variety of intelligence reports in the past. We definitely have the capability [to launch such a strike]. It seems an easy operation, involving four jets. For us it would be a piece of cake." |
| The UN source said: "We know for sure that weapons are flowing from and through Sudan into the Egyptian Sinai, possibly to Gaza. The Egyptians have told us that the arms flowing into Sinai from Sudan are a big security problem. Northern Sinai is full of weapons. | The UN source said: "We know for sure that weapons are flowing from and through Sudan into the Egyptian Sinai, possibly to Gaza. The Egyptians have told us that the arms flowing into Sinai from Sudan are a big security problem. Northern Sinai is full of weapons. |
| "We have seen in the last few days intense clashes along this northern border, between Israel and Egypt, with armed, radicalised Bedouin groups with a vision of political Islam. There seem to be clear links between this and the strike in Khartoum. In the same days we've seen a dramatic increase in rockets fired into Israel from Gaza. The convergence of these elements points to Israel as the perpetrator." | "We have seen in the last few days intense clashes along this northern border, between Israel and Egypt, with armed, radicalised Bedouin groups with a vision of political Islam. There seem to be clear links between this and the strike in Khartoum. In the same days we've seen a dramatic increase in rockets fired into Israel from Gaza. The convergence of these elements points to Israel as the perpetrator." |
| In past there have been allegations that Sudan stored chemical weapons for Iraq at the Yarmouk facility. Government officials denied the charge. The attack destroyed part of the compound infrastructure, killed two people and injured another. | In past there have been allegations that Sudan stored chemical weapons for Iraq at the Yarmouk facility. Government officials denied the charge. The attack destroyed part of the compound infrastructure, killed two people and injured another. |
| In April last year, Sudan said it had irrefutable evidence that Israeli attack helicopters had carried out a missile and machine-gun strike on a car south of Port Sudan. That attack mirrored a similar strike by foreign aircraft on a truck convoy reportedly laden with weapons in eastern Sudan in January 2009. That too is widely believed to have been carried out Israel. | In April last year, Sudan said it had irrefutable evidence that Israeli attack helicopters had carried out a missile and machine-gun strike on a car south of Port Sudan. That attack mirrored a similar strike by foreign aircraft on a truck convoy reportedly laden with weapons in eastern Sudan in January 2009. That too is widely believed to have been carried out Israel. |
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