In brief
The crash, one of the deadliest in Sudan’s recent history, occurred amidst escalating violence from nearly three years of civil war, prompting urgent humanitarian concerns.
The crash of a military aircraft in a residential area of Sudan's capital, Khartoum, has tragically resulted in the deaths of at least 46 individuals, according to reports from regional officials released Wednesday. This incident compounds the suffering of a city that has endured nearly three years of relentless civil war.The aircraft, identified as an Antonov cargo plane, went down on Tuesday evening shortly after taking off from the Wadi Seidna air base near Khartoum. In a statement, the Sudanese military confirmed the crash but did not specify the casualties' identities or the circumstances behind the disaster. Among the dead were passengers onboard the aircraft as well as local residents.The crash has also left at least 10 individuals injured, including two young children, in the Al-Thawra neighborhood close to the air base, according to the state health ministry. The ongoing conflict in Khartoum, primarily between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has already devastated large parts of the city, resulting in tens of thousands of fatalities and displacing over 11 million people.In recent weeks, violence has significantly escalated, causing hundreds more deaths and putting approximately 24.6 million people—almost half of Sudan’s population—at increased risk of famine, according to international hunger authorities.Located just outside the capital, the Wadi Seidna air base serves as a pivotal operational site for the Sudanese military, which has been attempting to regain control of Khartoum. The base is instrumental in launching drone strikes against RSF fighters who have captured sections of the city and is also crucial for facilitating logistics, including the transportation of military supplies.Further complicating the situation, on the preceding Monday, the RSF claimed to have shot down another military aircraft flying over Nyala, a city in South Darfur. The military, however, has yet to respond to this assertion. In another incident last October, a military cargo plane crashed in North Darfur, causing the death of five personnel, including two Russian nationals.Sudan’s aviation history has been marred by numerous tragic incidents, including a 2003 crash that killed 116 people, leaving a single child as the sole survivor, and a 2020 accident in West Darfur that resulted in 16 fatalities. As the situation continues to deteriorate, the humanitarian crisis in Sudan grows increasingly dire amidst ongoing conflict.
