Somali embassy ransacked by armed forces in Sudan – a shocking display of lawlessness and chaos!

On Monday May 15, 2023, an unfathomable event took place at the Somali Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan-armed forces raided and looted the embassy, taking all equipment in sight. The Somali embassy’s neighbors validated that the malevolent armed forces broke into the building through the back and front doors before traversing to the cellar, where they discovered a small library and other offices. Even so, they found nothing of interest and left empty-handed.

According to Mohamed Sheikh Isaac, the Somali ambassador to Sudan, with whom the BBC Somali spoke, the raiders could not find anything worth taking, including funds, gold, or key equipment. In the aftermath of their fruitless attempts to loot the facility, the armed men deemed it appropriate to flee with someone else’s vehicle.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) rescued 282 Somali citizens fleeing militant infighting in Sudan. Inland transportation and four charter flights were used to safely evacuate the group between April 30 and May 3.

The Somali Embassy in Khartoum also houses the embassies of Kenya, Djibouti, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Libya, and Eritrea, but no one has taken responsibility for the break-in, nor has the Somali government accused any group. This event happened amidst escalating unrest, with the United Nations recording 676 people dead and 5,576 injured as of Sunday. Still, the actual death toll is expected to be higher, with indications of missing people and unburied bodies. This chaotic situation has triggered a humanitarian crisis that has caused over 200,000 people to flee to neighboring countries and left over 700,000 people displaced internally in Sudan. This places the region at risk of destabilization and external intervention.