Regretful incident in Sudan demonstrates complexity of hotbed missions - Russian envoy
MOSCOW. Jan 29 (Interfax) - Special Representative of the Russian President for Cooperation with African States Mikhail Margelov is upset by the attack against Russian Consul General to Sudan Andrei Taramayev and his wife.
"I was shocked to hear that Andrei Taramayev and his wife Lyudmila were hurt during an attack. I express my sympathy with the victims and all of our diplomats operating under such complex circumstances in the conflict region. This regretful incident is a new demonstration of the complexity of missions carried out in conflict hotbeds in the context of not only diplomatic tasks but also, unfortunately, of personal security issues," Margelov said in a cable sent to the Russian Embassy in Sudan.
He described the incident as a felony and wished the soonest possible recovery for the Russian diplomat and courage and success in his work under extremely complicated conditions.
The BBC said earlier in the day quoting a Sudanese police report that a man with origins in the Central African Republic had used a knife to stab the Russian consul general to Khartoum and his spouse.
In the opinion of the police, the man attacked the diplomat and his wife after he had learned about the killing of his brother by French servicemen in the Central African Republic. He wanted revenge for his brother's death by attacking any representative of western civilization.
The Russian Embassy in Khartoum (Sudan) consular department chief and his wife, who have been stabbed with a knife by a man with origins in the Central African Republic, are home now, Embassy Charge D'Affaires Yuri Vidakas said.
He also disclosed incident details.
"The diplomat and his wife were assaulted by an unknown man when they were walking out of the Embassy, practically in the parking lot. It appeared the man came from the Central African Republic," Vidakas said.
The diplomat and his wife were immediately given professional medical aid and taken to a hospital, he continued.
The police opened a criminal case and the Russian Embassy tightened its security, he said.