A tragic plane crash occurred on Wednesday, February 26, when a Sudanese military transport aircraft, an Antonov, crashed into a residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Khartoum, killing 46 people. The crash took place late Tuesday night near Wadi Seidna air base, a major military hub in Omdurman, northwest of the capital.
The Sudanese army, engaged in a prolonged war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, reported that the plane went down during takeoff, killing both military personnel and civilians. “After a final tally, the number of martyrs reached 46, with 10 injured,” said the Khartoum regional government’s media office.
Witnesses described a loud explosion and visible damage to nearby homes, with power outages affecting surrounding areas. Emergency teams quickly responded, transporting injured civilians, including children, to a local hospital.
A military source suggested a technical malfunction as the cause of the crash, though the information was shared on condition of anonymity. This incident comes amid a deadly power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamadan Daglo, which has resulted in significant loss of life and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.