A Sudanese military transport plane crashed into a residential neighborhood near Khartoum on Wednesday, February 26, killing 46 people, the regional government confirmed.
The Antonov aircraft went down late Tuesday night near Wadi Seidna air base, one of the army’s key military hubs in Omdurman, northwest of the capital.
The Sudanese army, which has been engaged in conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, reported that the plane crashed during takeoff, resulting in casualties among both military personnel and civilians.
“After a final tally, the number of martyrs reached 46, with 10 others injured,” the Khartoum regional government’s media office stated. Initially, the army-aligned health ministry had reported at least 19 fatalities.
Eyewitnesses recounted hearing a loud explosion and seeing multiple homes damaged by the crash. The impact also caused power outages in nearby neighborhoods. Emergency teams rushed injured civilians, including children, to a local hospital.
A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, cited a technical malfunction as the likely cause of the crash, according to AFP.
Escalating Conflict in Sudan
The crash occurred amid intensified fighting between the army and RSF, with the military recently gaining ground in central Sudan and Khartoum in its ongoing offensive.
On Saturday, RSF signed an agreement with allied political and armed groups in Nairobi, Kenya, to establish a parallel government in rebel-controlled areas.
The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 due to a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has since led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The war has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced over 12 million people, and left the country on the brink of famine while crippling essential infrastructure.
