International Courant
The Russian embassy in Sudan has mentioned it’s investigating stories {that a} Russian-crewed cargo airplane was shot down in Darfur, a key battleground within the civil warfare between the military and the paramilitary Speedy Help Forces (RSF).
The airplane, recognized as a Russian-made Lyushin Il-76, was on a mission to ship tools and medication to the military-occupied city of el-Fasher, navy sources informed Sudanese media.
On Monday, the RSF mentioned it had downed a Russian-made airplane flown by the Egyptian navy, which it accused of bombing civilians – though it was recognized as an Antonov.
Egypt denies accusations that it offered navy assist to the Sudanese military throughout the 18-month battle.
The brutal battle for energy between the navy and the RSF started in April 2023 and led to what the UN has known as one of many world’s worst humanitarian crises.
By some estimates, as many as 150,000 folks have been killed for the reason that warfare started final yr, in keeping with feedback by U.S. Particular Envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello in Could.
The UN estimates it has additionally pushed greater than 10 million folks – a few fifth of the inhabitants – from their houses.
Particulars concerning the crash and its mission are unclear.
The Russian embassy within the capital Khartoum mentioned it was working with the Sudanese military-led authorities to collect extra details about the crash and people on board.
In line with the information web site Sudan Tribune, all crew members – together with three Sudanese nationals and two Russians – had been killed within the crash.
It quotes navy sources as saying it crashed within the Malha space, close to the border with Chad, on its method to the besieged city of el-Fasher. This has not been independently verified.
El-Fasher is the one city within the western Darfur area nonetheless beneath military management and has been beneath assault by the RSF since April.
The RSF says it’s in possession of the airplane’s black field and has seized paperwork associated to the airplane and its mission.
Viral pictures from the alleged crash website present RSF troopers with what look like Russian passports and ID playing cards subsequent to the airplane wreckage.
Some stories recommend a technical fault might have been liable for the crash, however each the navy and RSF say the airplane was shot down.
Others point out it could have been wrongly focused.
It is because some paperwork seen in circulating video footage recommend that the airplane was linked to an airline beforehand linked to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Center Japanese nation denies accusations that it has armed the RSF, though the UN says there may be credible proof.
New diplomatic efforts to barter a cessation of hostilities between rival forces in Sudan have did not make any progress.
Heavy preventing has lately escalated round Khartoum, which is basically managed by the RSF, with the military intensifying airstrikes within the metropolis’s middle and southern belt.
