RSF claims responsibility for downing Sudanese military plane in West Kordofan
The RSF announced that its air defence system successfully targeted the Ilyushin aircraft, which it alleged belonged to the Islamic Movement Army, after it carried out attacks in surrounding areas.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have claimed responsibility for shooting down a Sudanese military cargo aircraft over the city of Babanusa in West Kordofan state on Tuesday, in what they described as a response to army airstrikes in several towns.
In a statement, the RSF announced that its air defence system successfully targeted the Ilyushin aircraft, which it alleged belonged to the Islamic Movement Army, after it carried out attacks in surrounding areas, including Wad Banda and Aiyal Bakhit, resulting in the deaths of dozens of civilians, including children, women and the elderly.
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The Islamic Movement Army comprises armed factions that have been integrated into the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) to support the military in its ongoing fight against the RSF.
"The Islamic Movement's Army utilised its Military Aircraft to launch a series of brutal attacks on residential neighbourhoods and markets, using missiles and barrel bombs, which resulted in the unfortunate death and injury of dozens of innocent civilians," the statement, issued on RSF's official website, reads.
The Sudanese army, TRT Afrika reports, however, attributed the crash to a technical malfunction in the aircraft's right wing, which caused it to lose balance, catch fire and crash tens of kilometres west of army positions.
It added that the aircraft had been on a mission to airdrop supplies to army units in Babanousa, where clashes between the army and RSF are ongoing, while adding that all crew members were killed during the incident.
The army did not specify the exact number of casualties, but unverified reports indicate that at least 10 people were aboard the plane.
The Sudanese army has stepped up airdrops of supplies to troops in Babanousa as the city continues to face repeated RSF assaults. Reports indicate that intense fighting has spread throughout North, West and South Kordofan, where clashes between the army and the paramilitary group have escalated in recent weeks.
The situation worsened on October 26 when the RSF seized control of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, reportedly carrying out mass killings and raising concerns that the takeover could deepen the country's divisions.
Since the conflict began in April 2023, the ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the RSF has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, displaced millions and created one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises.
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