Sudan army chief Burhan survives assassination attempt that killed five people
Sudan's de facto leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has survived a drone attack on an eastern army base that killed five people on Wednesday.
Burhan, the head of the military and sovereign council, was visiting the Gibet army base for a military graduation ceremony.
Video footage from the ceremony, seen by Middle East Eye, showed Burhan flanked by army officers, high-fiving military students who were ululating and shouting "God is great".
Two drone strikes targeted the event at the conclusion of the ceremony, according to a statement from the Sudanese military.
Burhan was unharmed and government anti-aircraft missiles were deployed to counter the drones, the statement added.
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The eastern town of Gibet is located approximately 100km from the army's de facto capital, Port Sudan, in Red Sea state.
Among the five people killed were students and an army officer, according to a report in the Sudan Tribune.
Eyewitnesses reported at least five drones were involved in the attack, which also damaged a university building.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary, which has been at war with Sudan's army since 15 April of last year, did not immediately take responsibility or comment on the incident.
While the RSF is the most obvious suspect, army sources told Middle East Eye they are not currently sure who is responsible for the attack.
The assassination attempt is the latest among several attacks on army locations in recent weeks, including in Atbara, Gedaref, Shendi, Kosti and Kenana.
Tuesday's strike was the closest to the army's de facto capital in Port Sudan.
The war has displaced over eight million people and has left 18 million "acutely food insecure", according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP).
The attack comes just one day after Burhan's foreign ministry conditionally accepted truce talks in Switzerland, scheduled for August at the invitation of the US.
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