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.
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.