Sudan military plane crash, killing 46 people

At least 46 people have lost their lives, and 10 others have been injured after a Sudanese military plane crashed into a residential area in Omdurman, the twin city of the capital, Khartoum, according to state media.

The Russian-built Antonov aircraft went down shortly after taking off from the military’s Wadi Seidna air base on Tuesday evening. The cause of the crash remains unclear, though military sources suggest a technical malfunction may have been responsible.

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Among the casualties were both military officers and civilians. The crash comes just a day after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been engaged in a brutal conflict with the army, claimed to have downed a fighter jet in South Darfur.

Emergency teams rushed injured civilians, including children, to a nearby hospital, the health ministry said. A senior army commander in Khartoum was among the dead, Reuters reported.

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Witnesses described hearing a loud explosion as the plane crashed, damaging several homes and causing power outages in nearby neighbourhoods, according to AFP.

Sudan’s ongoing civil war, which erupted in April 2023 due to a power struggle between the army and the RSF, has left thousands dead and displaced around 12 million people. The fighting has devastated much of the country, including Khartoum and Omdurman.

This incident adds to Sudan’s history of aviation accidents, such as the 2012 Talodi Antonov An-26 crash and the 1998 Sudan Air Force crash in Nasir.