A cargo plane was struck by bombs shortly after landing at an airport in Sudan’s Darfur region early Wednesday, according to eyewitness accounts, as deadly fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) drags on.
Three witnesses reported that the aircraft was targeted around 5:30 am at Nyala airport, the capital of South Darfur, which has been under RSF control since 2023. “Half an hour after the plane landed, I heard explosions and saw smoke rising from it,” one local resident told AFP. Two others confirmed hearing blasts and seeing smoke, with reports of explosions continuing for about an hour across the city.
Both the Sudanese army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, under Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, have remained silent on the latest incident. The RSF has enforced a heavy-handed presence in Nyala, and the witnesses spoke anonymously due to safety concerns.
The airport has previously been targeted. In May, a cargo plane believed to be delivering supplies to RSF forces was also bombed upon landing. The army has accused the United Arab Emirates of supplying RSF forces with weapons, including advanced Chinese-made drones seen at the Nyala airport in satellite images published by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab. The UAE denies these allegations.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned Wednesday that recent indiscriminate airstrikes by the army in Nyala have caused significant civilian casualties. In one such attack on February 3, HRW said five bombs dropped on crowded neighbourhoods killed 32 people. Doctors Without Borders corroborated the death toll. “These inaccurate attacks have killed scores of men, women, and children, destroyed families, and caused fear and displacement,” said HRW’s Jean-Baptiste Gallopin.
The war, which began in April 2023 after a power struggle between Sudan’s top generals erupted into conflict, has now killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million people, and triggered the world’s largest hunger and refugee crisis. The conflict has also geographically split Sudan, with the army controlling the north, centre and east, while the RSF dominates Darfur and parts of the south.
Amid accusations and regional rivalries, Sudan’s ties with the UAE were severed last month after drone strikes hit Port Sudan. Meanwhile, the RSF has accused Egypt of supporting the Sudanese army — a claim Cairo also denies.
