Military plane crashes in Sudan, killing all on board

Military officials have stated on December 10 that a Sudanese military aircraft crashed while attempting to land in the east of the country, killing all crew members.

According to The New Arab plus agencies, the cargo plane experienced technical failure while landing on December 9 at the Osman Digna air base in the Red Sea coastal city of Port Sudan, two officials said.

The military has not yet commented on the crash; however, it is apparent that the entire crew was killed, although officials did not disclose how many personnel were on board.

A notable Sudanese journalist, Osman Mirghani, announced the death of his nephew, Omran Mirghani, who died in the crash.

Plane crashes in Sudan occur relatively frequently. In February 46 people died in an incident similar to this recent crash, occurring on the outskirts of the capital city, Khartoum.

The crash came as the military had suffered many setbacks in its war against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). An extremely violent civil war between the two groups that began in April 2023 has resulted in the killing of over 40,000 people and the displacement of millions more.

The military is currently on the back foot in the war following the loss of the strategically important city of El-Fasher in North Darfur. It recently had to pull out from the country’s largest oil facility in the central region of Kordofan.

The RSF announced on December 8 that it seized control of the Heglig oil field in Sudan’s South Kordofan province.

After the seizure, the RSF released a statement which read, “The Liberation of the Heglig oil region is a pivotal point in the liberation of the entire homeland, given the region’s economic importance”, according to The New Arab via AFP on December 8^th.

Kordofan has become hotly contested and the main cite of fighting in the war, which continues to wreak havoc in Sudan’s civilian population.

The New Arab, Maghrebi.org