Omdurman, Sudan, Feb 27, (dpa/GNA) – At least 46 people were killed, after a Sudanese military aircraft crashed in a residential area in the city of Omdurman near Khartoum, Sudanese officials said on Wednesday.
Among the victims are 17 military personnel, including high-ranking officers, and 29 civilians, according to the Ministry of Information.
Ten people were injured in the plane crash, which occurred on Tuesday evening shortly after take-off, it said.
Omdurman is Sudan’s second major city after the capital, located north-west of Khartoum on the opposite bank of the Nile river.
A spokesman for the armed forces said there had been both dead and injured military members but did not give further details.
It was also unclear whether the crash was caused by technical issues, or if the aircraft was hit by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.
A bloody power struggle has been raging in Sudan for almost two years between de facto ruler Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the RSF.
According to UN figures, the conflict has driven more than 12.5 million people to flee their homes, with parts of the country threatened by acute hunger.
International efforts to mediate in the conflict have so far been unsuccessful.
While the army has recently been able to recapture important areas, particularly in the capital Khartoum and the surrounding area, the RSF has been controlling large parts of the western Darfur region.
Both sides have been accused of war crimes and human rights violations.
Representatives of the RSF and other political and military groups met in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi last week to discuss plans to establish a “parallel government” in areas under RSF control.
GNA