Sudan summons CAR envoy over Bangui attack

SUDAN,

Sudan has summoned the Central African Republic (CAR) ambassador to protest the deadly attack on its embassy in Bangui, Foreign Affairs ministry said.

Mr Abdul Rahim Abdullah was summoned by the Khartoum authorities on Saturday after CAR police attacked the Sudanese embassy on Friday, occasioning the death of one member of staff.

“The Foreign ministry has summoned the CAR ambassador in Khartoum Abdul Rahim Abdullah in order to protest against the attack on the Sudanese embassy in Bangui," the ministry said in statement.

However, the statement said CAR Faustin Archange Touadera and the Interior ministry had promised to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice.

One of the world's poorest countries, the CAR spiralled into bloodshed after long-time leader Francois Bozize was overthrown in 2013 by a mainly Muslim rebel alliance called the Seleka.

France intervened militarily to push out the Seleka alliance, but the country remains plagued by violence between ex-rebels and vigilante militias.

Many armed groups are nominally organised along Christian or Muslim affiliations.

They both typically gain their revenue from extortion, roadblocks or mineral resources.

President Touadera governs with the support of a large UN peacekeeping operation, yet can only claim to control a fraction of the country.

His election in 2016 was hailed as a turning-point in one of the world's most chronically unstable countries.