Four killed in explosion, armed attack in Sudan port city

An explosion killed at least four people at a sports venue in a key Sudanese Red Sea port city, medics said Sunday. 

The blast took place late on Saturday at a busy sporting club in Port Sudan. It was not immediately clear who was behind the incident, which also involved an armed attack. 

"An explosive device went off at Al-Amir club ... killing four people," the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said in a statement. 

Three others were wounded after being shot or stabbed, it added.

"There was another attempt targeting a hotel in the city but it failed," the committee said without elaborating. 

Tensions have been simmering in recent weeks in Port Sudan where anti-government protesters have reportedly blocked roads amid rising insecurity. 

The doctors' committee, an independent union of medics, blamed "tribal strife" for Saturday's incident and urged security forces to step in.  

On Tuesday, at least three people were shot dead and 14 injured in gang violence in the city of Port Sudan.

A statement from the Red Sea State’s security committee said that a gang, who refer to themselves using an offensive racial slur, attacked homes in the Mirghaniya area of Port Sudan.

The statement added that police arrived in the area soon afterwards and fired tear gas on the gang members, arresting six of them.

However, gang members then fired shots at the police, who had to call in reinforcements, according to the statement.

Two of the gang members who were arrested were in possession of firearms.

The security committee expressed regret for the deaths and injuries which resulted from the violence.

Sudan has been led by a transitional civilian-military administration following the April 2019 ouster of Islamist president Omar al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan with an iron fist for 30 years.

The country has since been undergoing a rocky period marked by a wrenching economic crisis and deepening political division.