A Turkish evacuation plane was fired upon and hit by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan’s army said.
According to the country’s armed forces the Turkish evacuation plane was landing at Wadi Seidna airfield, near Khartoum, when its fuel system was damaged.
Photos showing damage to a Turkish plane that landed in Sudan on Friday, April 28, 2023, were shared on social media by a military blogger.
The photos show a bullet hole in the exterior of the aircraft and fluid leaking from plane.
According to Reuters, the Turkey’s defence ministry confirmed that an evacuation plane had been fired upon but there were no injuries.
The RSF denied responsibility and blamed the Sudanese army for “spreading lies”.
“Our forces have remained strictly committed to the humanitarian truce that we agreed upon since midnight, and it is not true that we targeted any aircraft in the sky of Wadi Seyidna in Omdurman,” the RSF said.
The damaged aircraft shown online is a C130 Hercules and the registration number shown matches an aircraft that landed at Wadi Seidna airfield on April 28.
A number of aircraft have been destroyed or heavily damaged during the clashes between the RSF and the Sudan Army since fighting broke out on April 15, 2023.
A Saudia A330-300 (HZ-AQ30) was hit by gunfire while still on the tarmac preparing to depart on a regular commercial service to Riyadh at the beginning of the conflict.
A Boeing 737-800 operated by Ukrainian airline SkyUp was also heavily damaged in the first moments of combat, as was an Embraer ERJ135 operating on behalf of the United Nations.
Other civilian aircraft destroyed on the ground include a Boeing 737-300 (registration PK-YGW) operated by Asia Cargo Airlines, and a Boeing 737-800 operated by local carrier Badr Airlines (registration 4L-MWA), which was seen being engulfed by flames at Khartoum airport in the evening of April 20, 2023.
