Sudanese military plane crashes – media
A Sudanese IL-76 military cargo plane crashed on Tuesday west of Port Sudan, resulting in the death of the entire crew, according to local sources cited by several news outlets.
The aircraft, operated by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), was reportedly on approach to the Osman Digna airbase when it experienced a sudden technical malfunction, leading to the crash.
An anonymous source ruled out the involvement of hostile fire, outlet Ultra Sudan reported.
Quoting a source who spoke on condition of anonymity, AFP said that “all members of the crew were killed in the air crash.” However, how many personnel were on board has not been disclosed.
The Sudanese military has not issued an official statement on the circumstances of the crash or details of the crew.
It is only the latest military aviation loss to occur in the region during Sudan’s civil war.
Sudan descended into chaos in April 2023 when fighting erupted between the national army (Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This occurred after months of tension between their commanders, army generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ‘Hemedti’, respectively, over a planned transition to civilian rule. What began in the capital, Khartoum, as a power struggle has devastated the country, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions.
Regional and international peace efforts, including African Union mediation and Saudi–US talks in Jeddah, have repeatedly stalled. Sudanese officials have named Colombians and Ukrainians among mercenaries backing the RSF against the army. Officials have also accused Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates of involvement and recently claimed the European Union has an “incomplete understanding of the complex situation” in the country.
Khartoum has also accused authorities in neighboring Kenya of backing the RSF and has broken ties with the East African grouping IGAD amid mistrust of regional mediation. In July, TASIS, a political coalition aligned with the paramilitary, announced the formation of a rival government months after its members signed a charter in Nairobi. It named Gen. Dagalo as chairman of a 15-member presidential council, a move rejected by the UN and AU.
In November, a Sudanese military cargo plane crashed in West Kordofan, killing all crew members, the army said. It was reportedly delivering supplies to forces in Babanusa, where the army was battling the RSF. The military blamed a technical malfunction, while the RSF claimed it had shot down the “warplane” and shared footage of the wreckage.
Meanwhile in neighboring South Sudan, a plane carrying food supplies for the humanitarian group Samaritan’s Purse was lost. The Nari Air aircraft went down about 20km from Leer Airstrip after departing Juba with two tons of aid for communities displaced by flooding. All three crew members were killed, Reuters reported.
