Russian consul general, wife stabbed in Sudan

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A Russian diplomat and his wife were stabbed in Sudan’s capital on Tuesday by a man enraged by the death of his brother in strife-torn Central African Republic, Khartoum police said.

The attacker wounded the consul general and his wife, mistakenly believing they were from a nation that had sent troops to his home country, the force said in a statement.

Both were in a stable condition, it added.

Central African Republic, which borders Sudan, descended into chaos in March after a mostly Muslim rebel coalition, Seleka, marched into the capital, unleashing a wave of killings and looting.

Its former colonial ruler France has sent in troops to defend its citizens and back up African peacekeepers trying to contain the violence. The European Union has also promised to send in soldiers, but Russia has no troops on the ground.

The attacker told officers who arrested and questioned him that his brother had been killed “by forces from the one of the European countries,” the police said.
“There was no motive other than revenge for the death of the brother,” the police statement read.

The duty officer at Russia’s embassy in Khartoum said he could not comment and the Russian Foreign Ministry could not immediately be reached for comment.