Borrell did not say whether Irish-born EU Ambassador Aidan O’Hara was injured in the attack. EU spokeswoman Nabila Massrali told AFP about O’Hara’s condition after the attack that he was “okay”.
“Staff safety is our priority,” added the spokeswoman. “The EU delegation was not evacuated.” However, additional security measures would be checked.
Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said O’Hara was “not seriously injured” in the attack. However, the attack represents “a gross violation of the obligation to protect diplomats under the Vienna Convention”.
O’Hara is an “outstanding Irish and European diplomat serving the EU in the most difficult of circumstances,” Martin added. “We thank him for his service and urgently call for an end to the violence in Sudan and a resumption of dialogue.”
Sudan has been shaken by fierce fighting since Saturday. According to the UN, at least 185 people have been killed and around 1,800 others injured in the fighting between the army and the RSF militia in Sudan. The violence has now spread from the capital Khartoum to other parts of the country.
The fighting was triggered by the planned integration of the RSF militia into the army; this is considered a key step in the plan to return power in the north-east African country to a civilian government. Tensions between Sudan’s military ruler, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, had recently escalated.
Sudan’s de facto ruler Al-Burhan has been in power since a military coup in October 2021. He deposed the government tasked with leading the transition to democratic elections after the ouster of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019. The anti-army RSF militia emerged from the Janjaweed militia that committed atrocities against civilians in southern Sudan’s Darfur region.
On Monday, the EU foreign policy representative called for a ceasefire in Sudan to allow attempts at mediation.
