US Diplomat Shot Dead In Khartoum

Posted on January 3, 2008
Filed Under Sudan, Evil Terrorists, WTFish?, America |

Not a good way to begin the new year.

 

KHARTOUM, Sudan - An American diplomat and his driver were shot to death Tuesday in the Sudanese capital, the U.S. Embassy said, a day after a joint African Union-United Nations force took over peacekeeping in Sudan’s Darfur region.

It was not known if the attack had a political motive or was a random crime.

Darfur, far to the west, is engulfed in violence. But the Sudanese capital and its surroundings rarely see political violence or attacks by Islamic militants.

John Granville (shown in the picture above) worked for USAID. Apparently the shooter waited early before dawn for the driver to pick up the diplomat and then made the move. The incident took place at about 4AM.

I spent the last two hours or so delving into the reports and Sudanese opinions concerning this story. Opposition parties are already using the incident as a stick to beat al-Bashir’s ruling NCP. Furthermore, at the moment there are many speculations over who did it and why. Bla bla bla, this an isolated incident. Bla bla bla, this is defintely al-Qaeda’s doing. Bla bla bla, their car got caught up in the middle of a fight unfortunately.

Even the details of where John was shot are inaccurate.

First we have this:

he was hit by five bullets in the head, neck and chest, the statement said.

And then we have this:

the American was shot five times in the hand, shoulder and stomach.

Wonderful!

The local authorities and the US embassy have begun investigations.

Sudanese authorities are expressing their regret over Tuesday’s deadly shooting of a U.S. diplomat in the capital of Khartoum.

Really? So first you stir anti-Western sentiments using the state media to deflect attention away from local issues and then you express regret? I’m not sure I get it but hey what do I know? I’m just a dumb 21 year old Sudanese kid.

The timing of the attack is interesting and may provide some clues.

The shooting happened one day after a joint United Nations-African Union force took over peacekeeping duties in Darfur.

On Monday, President Bush signed legislation allowing U.S. state and local governments to divest from Sudan because of the Darfur situation.

Indeed, Bush signed the Sudan divestment bill.

Personally, I smell al-Qaeda’s and their like-minded friends’ stink all over this but I think it’s best to wait and see. Meanwhile, I’m glad that Sudanese have been vocal in their condemnation. There are two general sentiments expressed. The first is “no matter what our differences are, this should never be the way to settle them” and the second is “this man was a guest in our country who must have been treated as such”. Nobody wants this to become a trend.

On a related note, shouldn’t we get a prize for being the African country with the highest number of gigantic crappy headlines for 2007 or something? Because seriously, we deserve one!

Comments

3 Responses to “US Diplomat Shot Dead In Khartoum”

  1. kinzi on January 3rd, 2008 7:55 am

    thanks, Drima. I knew you’d come up with more than I was reading.

    Yea, poor Sudan! Kenya might just take your lead, though. I’m praying for both countries today :(

  2. US Diplomat Shot Dead In Khartoum on January 3rd, 2008 8:05 am

    […] US Diplomat Shot Dead In Khartoum KHARTOUM, Sudan - An American diplomat and his driver were shot to death Tuesday in the Sudanese capital, the U.S. Embassy said, a day after a joint […]

  3. Roman Kalik on January 3rd, 2008 9:02 am

    *nod* The timing is indeed worth noting, but we’ll see.

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