A Sudanese airstrike hit an airport in the country’s Darfur region controlled by a paramilitary group, destroying a suspected Emirati military aircraft and killing dozens of suspected mercenaries, Sudanese officials and a rebel adviser said yesterday.
Wednesday’s strike on Nyala airport killed at least 40 suspected mercenaries from Colombia, and destroyed a shipment of arms and equipment that were sent by the United Arab Emirates to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), two Sudanese military officials and an adviser to a Darfur rebel leader allied with the RSF said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Photo: AFP
The adviser also requested anonymity for his safety.
Sudan plunged into chaos when simmering tensions between the country’s military and the RSF exploded into fighting in April 2023 in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country.
The fighting has turned into a full-fledged civil war that has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced more than 14 million people and pushed parts of the country into famine.
State-run Sudan TV reported that the aircraft had taken off from a military base in the Arab Gulf region and that Sudanese jets struck it when it landed at Nyala airport.
It described the strike as a “blatant message” and a “new equation of deterrence” against foreign interference in Sudan’s affairs.
The Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has repeatedly denied involvement in the Sudan war by backing armed groups. There was also no comment from the RSF.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on X overnight that he ordered an investigation into the mercenaries’ killing.
The RSF seized Nyala, the capital city of South Darfur Province, last year as part of the paramilitary group’s push to control the entire region of Darfur.
The Sudanese government has accused the RSF of turning the city’s civilian airport into a military hub to receive weapons shipments and smuggle gold.
The Sudanese military has repeatedly struck the airport, saying it targeted aircraft delivering military supplies and mercenaries.
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