Khartoum:
A Sudanese military plane crashed on Tuesday on the outskirts of the capital Khartoum, killing a number of officers and civilians, the army said, with pro-democracy activists saying at least 10 people were killed.
In a statement released late Tuesday, the Sudanese army, at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, said the plane crashed during takeoff from an air base, killing and injuring both military personnel and civilians.
“The injured have been taken to hospital, and firefighting teams managed to contain the blaze at the crash site,” the statement added.
A military source had earlier told AFP that a technical malfunction was behind the crash of the Antonov aircraft.
The crash took place near Wadi Seidna air base — one of the army’s largest military hubs in Omdurman, part of greater Khartoum.
The Karari Resistance Committee, part of a network of volunteers coordinating aid across Sudan, reported that 10 bodies and several injured people were brought to Al-Nao hospital in Omdurman.
Witnesses reported damage to several homes in the neighbourhood where the plane came down.
Residents in northern Omdurman reported a loud explosion from the crash, which also caused power outages in several surrounding neighbourhoods.
A witness said the plane was flying southbound from northern Sudan when it crashed near the base.
The incident comes a day after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claimed responsibility for downing a fighter jet in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.
In a statement sent to the media, the RSF said it shot down a Russian-made Ilyushin plane early on Monday morning, alleging that the plane was destroyed with its crew on board.
The recent escalation follows significant advances by the army in central Sudan and the capital Khartoum in its multi-front offensive against the RSF.
Since April 2023, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy and 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.
The conflict has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory, according to the UN.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)