A massive fire broke out on Tuesday at the refinery located in the Al-Gaili area approximately 70 kilometers north of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) exchanged accusations regarding the cause of the fire.
The Al-Gaili Refinery is jointly owned by the Sudanese government, represented by the Ministry of Energy, and the China National Petroleum Corporation. It is one of the largest refineries in Sudan.
A few weeks after the outbreak of the war between the army and the RSF in mid-April, the RSF consolidated their control over the refinery.
The RSF spokesperson accused the Sudanese army’s air force of shelling the Al-Gaili refinery and destroying key warehouses, labelling it a desperate attempt to annihilate what remains of the Sudanese people’s capabilities and infrastructure in the country.
In a statement, the RSF spokesperson added, “The indiscriminate bombing of the refinery today is a war crime. It adds to the long list of heinous offenses perpetrated by the SAF alongside its patrons from the former regime and their jihadi Shadow Brigades.”
However, the SAF spokesperson, Brigadier General Nabil Abdullah, stated that “a fuel tanker belonging to the militia exploded in the Khartoum refinery of Al-Gaili. The tanker was brought in to take fuel without abiding by the safety measures taken at such sensitive facilities, which led to fire breaking out at the Nile company department and put the refinery and those in it at risk.”
He further added, “As part of their war against the nation and the citizens and their irresponsible behavior towards vital facilities in the country, a tank belonging to the militia exploded at the Khartoum Al-Gaili Refinery that they had brought in to extract fuel without adhering to the standard safety procedures followed in such sensitive facilities.”