The crash of a military aircraft in a residential area of Sudan’s capital killed at least 46 people, regional officials said on Wednesday, adding to the devastation of a city already wrecked by nearly three years of civil war.
It was one of the deadliest plane crashes in Sudan’s recent history, according to data from the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency. The state government in Khartoum, the capital, said in a statement that the dead included passengers on the plane and residents on the ground.
The Sudanese military said in a statement that the plane, an Antonov cargo aircraft, had crashed Tuesday evening while taking off from the Wadi Seidna air base just outside Khartoum. It did not identify the cause of the crash or provide details about the passengers who were killed.
The crash also injured at least 10 people in one city block in Al-Thawra, a residential neighborhood not far from the air base, the state government said. Two young children were among the injured, the state health ministry said.
Large parts of Khartoum have been destroyed in street battles as a conflict between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has left tens of thousands dead and prompted at least 11 million people to flee their homes. The city’s skyline is now in ruins.
In recent weeks, fighting has escalated, leaving hundreds more dead, and the protracted fighting has left an estimated 24.6 million people — about half of Sudan’s population — more vulnerable to famine, the global authority on hunger warned in December.
The air base is a key part of the Sudanese military’s campaign to retake Khartoum. The plane was carrying civilians and military personnel, the military said.
The military has launched drones from the air base to battle R.S.F. fighters who have taken over parts of the capital. The base is also a logistics hub for cargo flights, including those ferrying in munitions.
On Monday, the R.S.F. said its fighters had shot down a different military aircraft that was flying over Nyala, a city in the state of South Darfur, southwest of Sudan. Sudan’s military did not comment on the claim.
In October, another military cargo plane crashed in north Darfur, killing three Sudanese officers and two Russians, according to The Sudan Tribune newspaper. It was unclear what led to that crash.
Even before the war, Sudan experienced several deadly episodes involving military or commercial carriers.
In 2003, a Sudan Airways flight crashed into a hillside, killing 116 people and leaving a small boy as the lone survivor. In 2008, a Sudan Airways plane burst into flames after landing at the Khartoum airport, leaving 28 people dead. And in 2020, an Antonov aircraft crashed soon after taking off in the West Darfur region, killing all 16 people onboard.
