A Sudanese military plane crashed into a residential area on the outskirts of Khartoum late Tuesday, killing more than 20 people, including military personnel and civilians, Al Jazeera reports.
The crash occurred shortly after takeoff from the Wadi Seidna military airport in northern Omdurman, a part of the greater Khartoum area.
Military sources, speaking to Reuters news agency, attributed the crash to suspected technical issues. Among the deceased was Major-General Bahr Ahmed, a senior commander in Khartoum.
The Sudanese military, currently engaged in a fierce conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, confirmed the incident in a statement, acknowledging the loss of both military personnel and civilians without providing specific 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 upon impact, resulting in damage to several homes and power outages in the surrounding neighborhoods.
The Karari Resistance Committee, a local network of volunteers coordinating aid efforts, reported that al-Nao Hospital in Omdurman received ten bodies and treated several injured individuals from the crash site, according to AFP.
The devastating crash comes amidst escalating tensions and continued fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF. The conflict, fueled by a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamadan Daglo, has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions.
On Monday, the RSF claimed responsibility for downing a Russian-made Ilyushin plane in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.
Adding to the instability, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of “further escalation” on Monday, following the RSF and its allies’ announcement of forming a parallel government in areas under their control.
The UN reports that the ongoing conflict has uprooted over 12 million people, triggering the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.
