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Yarmouk Military Industrial Complex

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Yarmouk Military Industrial Complex (YIC) (Arabic: مجمع اليرموك للصناعات العسكرية), also known as the Yarmouk Munitions Factory (Arabic: مصنع اليرموك للذخائر), is a military complex located in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.

Yarmouk Military Industrial Complex
Map
Built1993
Operated1996
LocationKhartoum, Sudan
Coordinates15°29′55″N 32°30′52″E / 15.49861°N 32.51444°E / 15.49861; 32.51444
IndustryMilitary
ProductsAmmunition, Explosives, Rockets, Tanks, Armoured vehicles
Owner(s)part of the Military Industry Corporation, owned by General Intelligence Service

History

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The complex was established in 1993 and inaugurated in 1996 with the aim of establishing advanced military industries to meet defence needs in Sudan and contribute to the transfer and localisation of modern technology and benefit from it in the field of defence.[1][2][3] It produces rifles, pistols, launcher cannons and tanks such as Al Basheer MBT (Type 85M-II),[4] Al Zubair 1 MBT,[5] and Al Zubair 2 MBT,[6] as well as Amir IFV and Amir 2 IFV[7] armoured vehicles and self-propelled guns, as well as ammunition of various kinds.[1]

It was managed by the General Intelligence Service, as part of the Military Industry Corporation, and it 35% owned by Iran.[8] Personnel from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps were also reported to be working there.[9] In 2012, it was suggested that the Israeli Air Force conducted an air strike on the facility.[10] During the 2023 Sudan conflict, the Rapid Support Forces claimed control of the complex.[11]

2012 explosion

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On 23 October 2012 at midnight local time (21:00 GMT) there was an explosion at the factory.[12] The factory had been built in 1996.[13] According to Khartoum State Governor Abdel Rahman Al-Khidir, the explosion probably happened at the main storage facility.[14] The resulting fire resulted in the death of two people and one person being injured.[15]

Ahmed Bilal Osman, Sudanese culture and information minister, blamed the explosion on an airstrike by four Israeli aircraft. He claimed that unexploded Israeli rockets had been recovered.[16][17] Analysts had said that Sudan was being used as an arms-smuggling route to the Gaza Strip, which is governed by the Islamist militant organization Hamas.[18]

According to the Sunday Times, the Israeli operation "was seen as a dry run for a forthcoming attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities."[19]

Analysis by military experts at the Satellite Sentinel Project suggested that the target may have been a batch of around 40 shipping containers, containing highly volatile cargo.[20]

Reaction to the explosion

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  •   Sudan Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, Sudanese ambassador to the United Nations, brought the case to the UN Security Council.[16] He also claimed that Israel had violated Sudanese air space three times in recent years.[21] Three hundred people chanted outside of a government building "Death to Israel" and "Remove Israel from the map."[18] Osman further said that Sudan has a "right to react"[17] and to strike Israel.[18]
  •   Israel Amos Gilad, an Israeli defence official, said that "Sudan is a dangerous terrorist state" but refused to confirm Israeli involvement.[16]
  •   Iran sent two warships to Sudan, where the fleet commanders met with Sudanese navy commanders.[22]

Sudanese civil war

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During the Sudanese civil war and the further Battle of Khartoum the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), on 7 June, a fuel-storage facility located close to an army base and the factory caught fire during heavy fighting.[23] On the same day the RSF claimed control of the complex.[11] On 14 June, the SAF claimed that the RSF had begun using drones, which were believed to have come from the factory.[24] On 17 June, 17 people, including five children, were killed in an SAF air strike on the factory.[25]

The airstrike occurred earlier in the day of June 17, before the three-day ceasefire was set to be implemented later that evening. While the initial perpetrator was unknown, doctors' committees in Khartoum later accused SAF of the airstrike.[26][27] A local medical group called The Emergency Room announced that seventeen people were killed in the airstrike, including five children.[28] This toll was corroborated by the Sudanese Ministry of Health, who also stated eleven others were wounded.[29] Twenty-five houses were also flattened in the attack, which targeted the El Ezba market south of Yarmouk.[30] The RSF alleged the SAF of being behind the airstrike, but this couldn't be verified.[31] The Southern Khartoum Emergency Room, referring to the airstrike as the "Yarmouk massacre," stated that the airstrike targeted RSF militants in the Yarmouk neighbourhood.[27]

Later, the death toll grew to over 30 people killed, according to the Sudanese Doctors' Union.[32]

Following the airstrike, the three-day ceasefire from renewed negotiations in the Treaty of Jeddah went into effect.[33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "السودان .. وحقيقة مجمع اليرموك" [Sudan.. and the reality of the Yarmouk complex]. Albayan. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  2. ^ Al-Asbat, Othman Al-Asbat (2023-06-10). "معركة المعنويات بمجمع اليرموك السوداني... ما علاقة إسرائيل؟". independent Arabia (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  3. ^ "'Sudan's military industry expanding': Small Arms Survey". 6 July 2014.
  4. ^ Administrator (22 March 2013). "Al-Bashir DAA01 main battle tank data sheet specifications description pictures video | Sudan Sudanese army tank heavy armoured | Sudan Sudanese army military equipment vehicles UK". www.armyrecognition.com. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  5. ^ "Safir-74 - Tank Encyclopedia". www.tanks-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  6. ^ Administrator (21 March 2013). "Al-Zubair 2 DAA03 main battle tank data sheet specifications information pictures video Sudan | Sudan Sudanese army tank heavy armoured | Sudan Sudanese army military equipment vehicles UK". www.armyrecognition.com. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  7. ^ "Sudan puts its metal on display at IDEX". 8 March 2017.
  8. ^ "'Sudan's military industry expanding': Small Arms Survey". 6 July 2014.
  9. ^ "The Military Industry Corporation (MIC)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  10. ^ "CHRONOLOGY OF ARMAMENTS, DISARMAMENT AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY 2012" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  11. ^ a b "تفاصيل "معركة مستودع اليرموك" بين الجيش السوداني والدعم السريع". سكاي نيوز عربية (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-07-01.
  12. ^ "Sudan Accuses Israel of Bombing Khartoum Military Factory, Threatens Retaliation". Naharnet. 24 October 2012.
  13. ^ "Sudan threatens retaliation over alleged Israeli air strike". Guardian. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  14. ^ "Huge fire, explosions at military factory in Sudan capital". Sudan Tribune. 23 October 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  15. ^ Sudan opposition: Bombed arms factory belongs to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Haaretz October 24, 2012.
  16. ^ a b c "Khartoum fire blamed on Israeli bombing". Al Jazeera. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  17. ^ a b "Sudan blames Israel for Khartoum arms factory blast". BBC. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  18. ^ a b c Ulf Laessing, Khalid Abdelaziz (October 24, 2012). "Sudan blames Israeli air strike hit for munitions plant blasts". Reuters. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  19. ^ "Israeli jets bomb Sudan missile site in dry run for Iran attack". Sunday Times. 28 October 2012. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013.
  20. ^ "Satellite pictures suggest Sudanese weapons factory hit by air strike". The Guardian. October 27, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  21. ^ "Sudan arms factory blast: Khartoum to report Israel to UN". BBC. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  22. ^ "Iran's warships dock in Sudan: report". Reuters. October 30, 2012. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  23. ^ "Arms depot battle rages in Sudan as fuel facility burns". Aljazeera. 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  24. ^ "No respite for Sudan civilians two months into brutal war". Philippine Star. 2023-06-15. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  25. ^ "Sudan crisis: Five children among 17 killed in air strikes". BBC. 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  26. ^ "Sudan Officials: Airstrike Kills 17, Including 5 Children, in Khartoum". Voice of America. 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  27. ^ a b Camille (2023-06-19). "Relative calm in Sudan on first days of 'donor conference' truce". Dabanga Radio TV Online. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  28. ^ Pellish, Mohammed Tawfeeq,Alaa Elassar,Aaron (2023-06-17). "Airstrike in Sudan's capital kills 17 people, including five children, hours before US and Saudi Arabia broker ceasefire". CNN. Retrieved 2023-10-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ "Sudan Officials: Airstrike Kills 17, Including 5 Children, in Khartoum". Voice of America. 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  30. ^ "Sudan's warring sides agree to new 72-hour ceasefire". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  31. ^ "Sudan crisis: Five children among 17 killed in air strikes". BBC News. 2023-06-17. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  32. ^ Camille (2023-06-19). "Relative calm in Sudan on first days of 'donor conference' truce". Dabanga Radio TV Online. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  33. ^ "Sudan's warring sides agree to new 72-hour ceasefire". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
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