The TASS agency wrote that the Russian embassy in Sudan is in contact with the country’s authorities and is trying to find out the circumstances of the tragedy of the cargo plane on which Russians could have been on board. However, the situation is complicated by the fact that the plane crashed in Darfur, where the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Units (RSF) are fighting together, writes TASS.
“The embassy is in contact with the Sudanese authorities and is taking all necessary measures to clarify the circumstances of this incident,” the Russian diplomatic mission said on the Telegram social network.
Rapid support units were supposed to shoot down the plane with an anti-aircraft missile, writes the website Sudan War Monitor. The wreckage indicates that they accidentally shot down an Il-76 aircraft, which was actually part of an airlift sponsored by the United Arab Emirates in support of the Rapid Support Units themselves.
A Russian passport was found with one of the crew members. According to the Sudan War Monitor website, he was identified as the chief engineer of Airline Transport Incorporation FZC, which is based in the United Arab Emirates and has ties to Kyrgyzstan. The passport had the stamp of Manas International Airport, which is the main airport of Kyrgyzstan. According to the Mash news channel, Viktor Granov lost his life. Several colleagues were on board with him.
Sudan’s army chief, General Abdal Fattah Burhán, and RSF chief Mummad Hamdan Dagalo staged a coup together in 2021, but then split over disagreements over power-sharing, plunging Sudan into civil war last year. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is accused of providing financial and arms support to the Rapid Support Units, which it denies, while Saudi Arabia is said to have close ties to the Sudanese government.
