Russia Probes Claims of Cargo Jet Shoot-Down by Sudan's Rapid Support Forces in Darfur

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claimed they shot down a cargo plane in Darfur. Russian diplomats are investigating the incident. Mobile footage showed RSF fighters with identity documents from the crash site. These documents suggest the aircraft was linked to an airline previously associated with the UAE, which has denied arming the RSF despite evidence.

The Russian Embassy in Khartoum confirmed its diplomats are probing the incident in Sudan's Malha region, near Chad. The embassy mentioned that Russians might have been on board. The RSF has been in conflict with Sudan's army since April 2023. They claimed to have downed a "foreign warplane" aiding the Sudanese military, alleging it dropped "barrel bombs" on civilians.

RSF's Allegations and Evidence

The RSF stated, "All foreign mercenaries aboard the aircraft were eliminated in the operation." Footage showed fighters among burning wreckage, claiming they used a surface-to-air missile. Identity documents included a Russian passport and an ID linked to a UAE-based company with a disconnected phone number.

A crumpled safety card from the wreckage identified the plane as an Ilyushin Il-76 operated by New Way Cargo of Kyrgyzstan. Civil aviation officials in Kyrgyzstan did not comment on Monday. The Conflict Observatory, funded by the U.S. State Department, linked New Way Cargo's Ilyushin Il-76s to arming the RSF in a recent report.

UAE's Role and International Reactions

The report stated that the airline facilitated UAE arms transfers through flights to Aéroport International Maréchal Idriss Deby in Amdjarass, Chad. The UAE claims these flights support a local hospital. Amdjarass is near Malha, where the shoot-down occurred. "The UAE has used the airport as a waypoint to facilitate weapons to the RSF," said the report.

The Emirates offered a $1.5 billion loan to expand the airport rapidly. The absence of a significant local humanitarian crisis and few Sudanese refugees in the area cast doubt on UAE's claims about hospital construction. UN experts found accusations of UAE arming RSF credible. Emirati officials did not comment on the reported plane shoot-down.

Background of Sudan's Conflict

Sudan's war has resulted in over 24,000 deaths, according to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, monitoring violence since it began. The Sudanese army intensified offensives near Khartoum while allied forces battled RSF in Darfur. Sudan has been unstable since Omar al-Bashir's removal in 2019 following a popular uprising.

The transition to democracy was short-lived after two generals, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo of RSF, led a military coup in October 2021 and began fighting each other in 2023. Al-Bashir faces charges at the International Criminal Court for genocide in Darfur during the early 2000s with Janjaweed, RSF's precursor.

Rights groups and the UN report that RSF and allied Arab militias are attacking ethnic African groups again during this conflict.