Forty-six people, including top military officers, lost their lives when a Sudanese military transport plane crashed into a residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Khartoum, the regional government confirmed on Wednesday.
Among the casualties was Major General Bahr Ahmed, a senior Sudanese commander. 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 Sudanese army, currently engaged in a prolonged conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, stated that the plane crashed during takeoff, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries among military personnel and civilians.
“After a final tally, the number of martyrs reached 46, with 10 injured,” the Khartoum regional government’s media office announced in a statement. The army-aligned health ministry had initially reported at least 19 deaths.
Witnesses described hearing a loud explosion and seeing several homes damaged in the area. The impact also caused power outages in nearby neighborhoods. Emergency teams rushed injured civilians, including children, to a nearby hospital for treatment.
A military source cited a technical malfunction as the likely cause of the crash, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on discussing the matter with the media.
The incident occurred just a day after the RSF claimed responsibility for shooting down a Russian-made Ilyushin aircraft over Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, destroying the plane with its crew onboard.
The crash comes amid escalating tensions, following significant military advances by the Sudanese army in central Sudan and Khartoum in its ongoing offensive against the RSF. Meanwhile, the RSF recently signed a charter with allied political and armed groups in Nairobi, Kenya, setting the stage for a parallel government in rebel-controlled territories.