A cargo plane with a Russian crew was shot down in Darfur, a major battleground in the civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Russia’s embassy in Sudan has stated that it is looking into the incident.
According to military officials who spoke to Sudanese media, the plane, a Russian-built Lyushin Il-76, was en route to provide supplies and medication to the army-held city of el-Fasher.
The RSF claimed to have shot down a Russian-built aircraft, identified as Antonov, that was being flown by the Egyptian military and was suspected of hitting civilians on Monday.
Egypt refutes claims that, throughout the 18-month battle, it has been giving military assistance to Sudan’s army.
Beginning in April 2023, the army and RSF engaged in a brutal power struggle that resulted in one of the greatest humanitarian disasters in history, according to the UN.
Tom Perriello, the US special envoy for Sudan, stated in May that some estimates put the death toll since the war started last year at as high as 150,000.
According to UN estimates, it has also displaced about 10 million people, or around 5% of the population.
The Sudanese military-led government and the Russian embassy in the capital, Khartoum, said they were working together to collect additional information on the disaster and the people on board.
The Sudan Tribune news website reports that every crew member, including three Sudanese and two Russians – were killed in the crash.
It quotes military sources as saying it came down in the Malha area, near the border with Chad, en route to the besieged city of el-Fasher. This has not been independently verified.
El-Fasher, the only city under army control in the western Darfur region, has been under attack from the RSF since April. The RSF claims to have the plane’s black box and seized documents related to its mission.
Video footage shows RSF soldiers with Russian passports and identification cards near the wreckage. Some reports suggest a technical fault may have been responsible for the crash, but both the army and RSF claim it was shot down. Others suggest it may have been mistakenly targeted due to documents suggesting the aircraft was affiliated with an airline linked to the UAE. The Middle East denies allegations of arming the RSF, but the UN claims credible evidence.
(BBC)
