Il Nuovo Postiglione - Sudan's army, paramilitaries trade blame over oil refinery attack

Eyewitnesses reported seeing thick plumes of smoke covering the area around Al-Jaili refinery about 70 kilometres (40 miles) from Khartoum.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had claimed since the first month of the war, in April 2023, to be in control of the refinery.

In a statement, the army alleged that the RSF "deliberately set fire" to the facility in an attempt to destroy Sudan's infrastructure after failing to seize control of the country's "resources and land".

The RSF, however, blamed the military for the destruction, accusing it of targeting the refinery with barrel bombs during air strikes in the morning.

Before leaving office on Monday, the administration of United States president Joe Biden sanctioned Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, accusing the army of attacking schools, markets and hospitals and using food deprivation as a weapon of war.

That designation came about one week after Washington sanctioned RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo and said his forces had "committed genocide."

A military source has told AFP the army is advancing closer to Khartoum North, also known as Bahri, following days of military operations aimed at dislodging the RSF from fortified positions in the city.

This follows the army's recapture almost two weeks ago of the Al-Jazira state capital Wad Madani, a strategic crossroads south of Khartoum. RSF had controlled Wad Madani for more than a year.

Greater Khartoum remains divided with both sides locked in a protracted struggle.

Sudan's war has killed tens of thousands, uprooted more than 12 million and, according to the International Rescue Committee charity, created the "biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded".

While the RSF still holds sway over much of Sudan's western region of Darfur and parts of Kordofan in the south, the army has consolidated its grip on the north and east.

O.R.Lucchese--INP