Russian Ambassador to Sudan found dead in pool

Khartoum, Aug 24 (IANS/AKI) Russias Ambassador to Sudan, Mirgayas Shirinsky, was found dead in the swimming pool at his residence here, local media reported on Thursday, citing Sudanese authorities.

The Press Secretary at the Russian embassy, Sergei Konyashin, said there were signs that the 63-year-old Ambassador had suffered a severe heart attack, reported the Sudan Tribune.

A Sudanese police spokesman was quoted as saying it was believed that Shirinsky had high blood pressure.

The Foreign Ministry in Khartoum announced Shirinsky's death and offered condolences to the Russian government in a statement praising his diplomatic efforts.

Sudanese police have ruled out the possibility of an assassination, Russia 24 reported, quoting local law enforcement agencies.

Shirinsky, an Arabic speaker, was appointed ambassador to Khartoum in 2013 and previously worked in several countries in the Middle East including Yemen and Saudi Arabia, the Sudan Tribune said.

Nine Russian envoys have died in the past year including four since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump in January.

These include Russia's Ambassador to India, Aleksandr Kadakin, who died in late January in New Delhi at the age of 67, reportedly of heart failure, and longtime Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, who died suddenly in February in New York on the day before his 65th birthday, apparently of a heart attack.

--IANS/AKI