Military plane crashes in war-torn Sudan
A Sudanese military cargo aircraft has crashed in West Kordofan state, killing all crew members, the army has reported. In a conflicting statement, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claimed it had shot down an army “warplane.”
The incident occurred on Tuesday as the plane was airdropping supplies to forces in the besieged city of Babanusa, where the Sudanese military is fighting the RSF, according to an army statement.
The army said the plane had suffered “a technical malfunction in the right engine,” causing it to lose balance and catch fire after it had “successfully completed a landing operation.” It did not specify how many people were on board.
In a separate statement, the RSF claimed it had shot down an “Ilyushin warplane” over Babanusa after it “launched airstrikes that killed dozens of civilians” in multiple areas in West Kordofan. The RSF posted a video of the burning wreckage on its Telegram channel but provided no further evidence.
The group, according to local outlet Sudan Tribune, has been attempting to capture the city since its first assault in January 2024.
Late last month, the RSF seized Al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur and the Sudanese Army’s Sixth Infantry Division command, after an 18-month siege marked by reports of starvation and heavy bombardment.
More than 2,200 people have been killed and 390,000 displaced in the assault on Al-Fashir, the Sudan Doctors’ Union reported. The UN Security Council has condemned the offensive, calling on the RSF to implement provisions of a 2024 resolution, which demands an end to the siege and calls for de-escalation in the region.
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.
On Monday, activists and Sudanese officials accused paramilitary fighters of targeting a funeral in al-Luweib village, outside the army-held city of El-Obeid in North Kordofan, killing at least 40 people.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has warned that such atrocities could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity and announced a new probe into the incidents in Al-Fashir. The court has been investigating similar cases related to the Darfur conflict that began in 2003 and lasted nearly two decades.
However, Russia has accused the ICC of political bias and ineffectiveness, calling for the removal of the Darfur case from its jurisdiction.
