Several feared killed as Sudan army plane crashes near capital Khartoum

A Sudanese military plane has crashed in a residential area on the outskirts of the capital, Khartoum, killing several officers and civilians.

More than 20 people died when the plane crashed late on Tuesday while it was taking off from the Wadi Seidna military airport in northern Omdurman, which is a part of greater Khartoum, according to military sources who were cited by the Reuters news agency.

The sources told Reuters that technical factors were most likely to blame for the plane’s crash.

Major-General Bahr Ahmed, a senior commander in Khartoum, was reportedly among the dead.

Without providing further details, the military, which has been at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, issued a statement on Tuesday claiming that both military and civilian members had been killed.

The statement read, “The injured have been taken to a hospital, and firefighting teams managed to contain the blaze at the crash site.”

Residents in Omdurman’s northern Omdurman reported a loud explosion that caused power outages in nearby neighborhoods and damaged several homes.

According to a report from the AFP news agency, the Karari Resistance Committee, a network of volunteers coordinating aid across Sudan, 10 bodies and several injured people were transported to Omdurman’s al-Nao Hospital.

“Another escalation”

After a disagreement over the future structure of the government between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamadan Daglo, the conflict in Sudan erupted.

In its multi-front offensive against the RSF, the army is currently making significant advances in Khartoum and central Sudan.

The RSF claimed responsibility for the plane’s crash in Nyala, South Darfur’s capital, the day after it was downed.

On Monday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of “further escalation” after the RSF and its allies declared they would form a parallel government in areas under their control.