Several feared killed as Sudan army plane crashes near capital Khartoum

Deadly crash, attributed by sources to technical reasons, comes as the military makes advances in central Sudan and the capital against RSF.

A Sudanese military plane has crashed in a residential area on the outskirts of the capital, Khartoum, killing several officers and civilians.

The plane crashed late on Tuesday during takeoff from the Wadi Seidna military airport in northern Omdurman, part of greater Khartoum, leaving more than 20 people dead, according to military sources quoted by the Reuters news agency.

The sources told Reuters the plane crash was most likely due to technical reasons.

Major-General Bahr Ahmed, a senior commander in Khartoum, was reportedly among the dead.

The military, which has been at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, released a statement on Tuesday saying military personnel and civilians had been killed, without providing further details.

“The injured have been taken to hospital and firefighting teams managed to contain the blaze at the crash site,” the statement said.

Residents in northern Omdurman reported a loud explosion from the crash, which damaged several homes and caused power outages in surrounding neighbourhoods.

The Karari Resistance Committee, part of a network of volunteers coordinating aid across Sudan, reported that 10 bodies and several injured people were brought to al-Nao Hospital in Omdurman, said a report by the AFP news agency.

‘Further escalation’

The war in Sudan, which has killed tens of thousands, erupted after a rift emerged between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamadan Daglo over the future structure of the government.

The army is currently making significant advances in central Sudan and Khartoum in its multi-front offensive against the RSF.

The plane crash came a day after the RSF claimed responsibility for downing a Russian-made Ilyushin plane in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.

On Monday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of “further escalation” after the RSF and its allies declared they would form a parallel government in areas under their control.

The UN says the conflict has uprooted more than 12 million people, causing the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.