CAR apologizes for killing of Sudanese ambassador's guard

KHARTOUM - Central Africa Republic on Wednesday officially apologized for Sudan over the recent assault on the residence of Sudan's Ambassador in Bangui, vowing to investigate the incident which resulted in the killing of one of the embassy guards.

CAR Prime Minister Simplice Sarandji on Wednesday met Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum and conveyed to him his country's apology.

"I have been sent by the president in this regard and I apologized for President al-Bashir and for the Sudanese people," Sarandji told reporters following his meeting with al-Bashir.

Sudan's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohamed Abdalla Idris told reporters that President al-Bashir has accepted the formal apology from the CAR government.

"What has happened is really sad, but will not affect the relations between Central Africa Republic and Sudan or the deeply-rooted ties between the peoples of the two countries," Idris quoted al-Bashir as saying.

Last Friday, a guard of the Sudanese Ambassador's residence in the CAR capital of Bangui was killed by members of police, where Khartoum summoned the CAR ambassador and officially protested over the incident.

Press reports quoted CAR government sources as saying that the guard was mistakenly killed by the members of the Central Office for the Suppression of Banditry (OCRB), who thought he was a militia member.