At least 19 dead in Sudan army plane crash

The Antonov aircraft went down on Tuesday night near Wadi Seidna air base, one of the army’s largest military hubs in Omdurman, northwest of the capital.

The army, which has been at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, said the plane crashed during takeoff, killing and injuring both military personnel and civilians.

Witnesses described hearing a loud explosion and seeing several homes damaged in the area. The crash also caused power outages in nearby neighbourhoods.

"Search efforts are still ongoing to find the remaining martyrs under the rubble," the army-aligned health ministry said in a statement.

Pro-democracy activists had said previously that 10 people were killed in the crash.

The ministry added that emergency teams rushed injured civilians, including children, to a nearby hospital.

A military source said a technical malfunction was behind the crash. They spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The crash came a day after the RSF claimed responsibility for shooting down a Russian-made Ilyushin aircraft over Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. The RSF said the plane was destroyed with its crew onboard.

The incidents mark an escalation in the nearly two-year-long conflict between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamadan Daglo.

Once allies, the two leaders have become rivals in a conflict that has plunged Sudan into what the United Nations describes as one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory, killing tens of thousands.

The fighting has devastated Khartoum and other major cities, displacing millions and crippling critical infrastructure.

Despite recent army advances in central Sudan and the capital, the conflict shows little sign of resolution.