Israel describes Sudan as a "terrorist state"

After the African country of Sudan threw accusations towards Israel of carrying out airstrikes that blew up a weapons factory in the capital Khartoum, an Israeli top defense official Amo Gilad said on Thursday that "Sudan is a dangerous terrorist state."

Gilad added that it will take some time to know the incident's circumstances in Khartoum.

When asked whether Israel was involved in the attack, Gilad refused to reply directly, however, he stressed that the Israeli Air Force's past achievements prove that it is one of the most prestigious in the world.

A huge fire broke out late on Tuesday at the Yarmouk arms factory in the south of the capital which was rocked by several explosions, witnesses said. Firefighters took more than two hours to extinguish the fire at Sudan's main factory for ammunition and small arms.

Around 300 people gathered at the courtyard of a government building where the Sudanese cabinet was in an emergency meeting, shouting "Death to Israel" and "Remove Israel from the map."

"Israel is a country of injustice that needs to be deterred," Vice President Ali Osman Taha, standing next to President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, told the crowd. "This attack only strengthens our firmness."

The governor of Khartoum state initially had ruled out any "external" cause for the blast but officials later showed journalists a video from the vast site. A huge crater could be seen next to two destroyed buildings and what appeared to be a rocket lying on the ground.


LBCI/REUTERS