Russia investigates claimed shoot-down of cargo plane in Sudan

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said on Monday they shot down a cargo jet in the country’s far western reaches of Darfur, a claim that Russian diplomats said they were trying to investigate in the war zone.

Mobile phone footage showed what appeared to be a debris field with fighters from the paramilitary force, known as the RSF, showing off what appeared to be identity documents recovered from the crash.

However, documents also shown in the footage from the crash site suggest the aircraft was affiliated with an airline previously linked to an effort by the United Arab Emirates to arm the RSF in the war, something that has been strenuously denied by the UAE despite evidence.

A message from Russia’s embassy in Khartoum confirmed its diplomats were investigating the incident in Sudan’s Malha region in northern Darfur near the border with Chad. The embassy’s message said Russians may have been on board at the time.

The RSF has been at war with the Sudanese army since April 2023. The paramilitary force claimed in a statement it shot down a “foreign warplane” that had been aiding the Sudanese military. It alleged without providing evidence that the aircraft had been dropping “barrel bombs” on civilians.

“All foreign mercenaries aboard the aircraft were eliminated in the operation,” the statement said.