Egyptian diplomat killed in Khartoum with Sudan army blaming RSF

An Egyptian embassy staff member was killed in Khartoum on Monday as the battle between rival military forces in Sudan enters its second week, Cairo's foreign minister has confirmed. 

Muhammad El Gharrawi, assistant administrative attaché at Egypt’s Khartoum embassy, was killed on his way to the embassy headquarters to help with the evacuation of Egyptian citizens, said Egypt’s foreign ministry in a statement. 

Sudan’s Armed Forces have accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of killing the Egyptian, condemning their alleged targeting of civilians in a statement on Monday, reported the Sudan Tribune. 

In response, the RSF issued a statement mourning the staff member and pledging to cooperate with Egyptian authorities to uncover the facts about Al-Gharawy's death, The Sudan Tribune said. 

"Mohammad El-Gharrawi was killed as he was driving to the embassy to follow up the procedures of the evacuations of Egyptians stranded in Sudan," the Egyptian ministry said.

Cairo had originally issued a statement confirming the safety of all members of their diplomatic mission. 

They were pushed to publicly acknowledge the killing after the Sudanese army made an announcement about Gharrawi. 

Fierce fighting erupted in Sudan between the army, led by Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the RSF, headed by Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Daglo, on 15 April. 

Both men were part of a transitional government created after Omar al-Bashir was ousted from power in 2019 and later orchestrated a coup in October 2021 to derail the country’s delicate democracy. 

Tensions have flared recently over the integration of the RSF into the regular army. 

In the latest round of fighting, at least 427 people have been killed and more than 3,700 wounded, according to UN agencies. Countries across the world have rushed to evacuate their citizens from Sudan. 

Egypt, which shares a border with Sudan, is close to Burhan's military, while the RSF is believed to be backed by the UAE, which is a major financial supporter of Cairo. 

Over 10,000 Egyptians are thought to live in Sudan.