Khartoum: A Sudanese military plane crashed on Tuesday on the outskirts of the capital, Khartoum, resulting in the deaths of several officers and civilians, according to the army. Pro-democracy activists reported that at least 10 people were killed in the incident.
In a statement released late Tuesday, the Sudanese army, which has been engaged in conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, stated that the plane crashed during takeoff from an air base. The crash caused fatalities and injuries among both military personnel and civilians.
"The injured have been taken to the hospital, and firefighting teams managed to contain the blaze at the crash site," the statement added.
A military source earlier told AFP that the crash of the Antonov aircraft was caused by a technical malfunction. The incident occurred near the Wadi Seidna air base, one of the army’s largest military hubs in Omdurman, part of greater Khartoum.
The Karari Resistance Committee, a network of volunteers coordinating aid across Sudan, reported that 10 bodies and several injured individuals were brought to Al-Nao Hospital in Omdurman. Witnesses also reported damage to several homes in the neighborhood where the plane crashed.
Residents in northern Omdurman described hearing a loud explosion from the crash, which also caused power outages in several surrounding areas. A witness stated that the plane was flying southbound from northern Sudan when it crashed near the base.
This incident occurred just a day after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claimed responsibility for shooting down a fighter jet in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. In a statement sent to the media, the RSF claimed it had shot down a Russian-made Ilyushin plane early Monday morning, alleging that the aircraft was destroyed along with its crew.
The recent escalation follows significant advances by the Sudanese army in central Sudan and the capital Khartoum as part of its multi-front offensive against the RSF. Since April 2023, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamadan Daglo, once allies, have been locked in a brutal power struggle.
The conflict, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives, erupted after a rift emerged between Burhan and Daglo over the future structure of the government. According to the United Nations, the conflict has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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