A US diplomatic convoy came under fire in Sudan on Monday but nobody was hurt, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
"This action was reckless, it was
irresponsible and of course unsafe," he told reporters in Japan after G7
talks.
Sudan has been gripped for days by deadly
fighting between rival forces.
Earlier, it was reported that the EU's
ambassador in Sudan, Aidan O'Hara, has been assaulted at his home in the
capital Khartoum.
According to BBC around 185 people have been
killed and more than 1,800 injured in three days of fighting in Sudan,
according to the UN. The city has seen air strikes, shelling and heavy
small-arms fire.
Both the army and a paramilitary group called
the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claim to control key sites in Khartoum, where
residents have been sheltering from explosions.
Mr O'Hara was not "seriously hurt",
Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin confirmed.
He described the attack as a "gross
violation of obligations to protect diplomats".
Mr Martin described the ambassador as an
"outstanding Irish and European diplomat who is serving the EU under the
most difficult circumstances".
"We thank him for his service and call
for an urgent cessation of violence in Sudan, and resumption of dialogue,"
he said.
Earlier, EU foreign policy chief Josep
Borrell tweeted that the security of diplomatic premises and staff was a
"primary responsibility" of the Sudanese authorities.
EU spokeswoman Nabila Massrali told AFP news
agency the EU delegation had not been evacuated from Khartoum following the
attack. Staff security was the priority and security measures were being
assessed, she added.
US state department spokesman John Kirby said
there were currently no plans to evacuate US personnel, despite ongoing
security concerns and the closure of Khartoum's airport but he urged all
Americans to treat the situation "with the utmost seriousness".
The conflict has forced many civilians to
shelter in their homes amid fears of a prolonged conflict that could land the
country in deeper chaos.
On Monday, clouds of smoke were visible above
Khartoum's main airport, with TV showing images of fires and explosions. Army
air strikes targeted RSF bases, some of which are embedded in residential
areas.
Hospitals were shelled, doctors say. Damage
was reported at al-Shab Teaching Hospital in Khartoum along with two other
clinics.
The fighting is between army units loyal to
the de facto leader, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, a notorious
paramilitary force commanded by Sudan's deputy leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo,
better known as Hemedti.
Hemedti said on Monday that the international
community must intervene, and branded Gen Burhan "a radical Islamist who
is bombing civilians from the air". Gen Burhan has said he is willing to
negotiate.
The two sides held a brief ceasefire on
Sunday to allow the wounded to be evacuated, although it was not clear how
strictly they had stuck to it.
The regional Intergovernmental Authority on
Development, or Igad, will send the presidents of South Sudan, Djibouti and
Kenya to the country to try to broker peace.
Igad's executive secretary, Nuur Mohamud
Sheekh, told the BBC there were some signs that progress could be made.
"They are preparing to travel to Sudan
to meet with the two leaders but they are engaging with them through back
channel diplomacy, they are speaking to these leaders to cease hostilities, to
stop the fighting and return to the negotiating table," he said.
"Both these leaders are agreeable to
mediation, which by itself is a very positive development over the last few
hours. Our leaders have experience when it comes to mediating in
conflicts."
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