Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, RSF has shot at a Turkish evacuation plane as it was landing at Wadi Saeedna airbase in the capital of Khartoum on Friday damaging the fuel supply.
The plane managed to land safely after the paramilitary forces opened fire.
However, it is being fixed, Sudan’s army said.
Earlier reports claimed that a crew member was wounded in the attack but Turkey’s defence ministry said there were no injuries while confirming the plane had been fired at, according to Daily Mail.
“Light weapons were fired on our C-130 evacuation plane… Our plane landed safely. Although there are no injuries to our personnel, necessary repairs are being carried out on our aircraft,” a Turkish defence ministry statement said.
The RSF denied firing at the plane and said the army was ‘spreading lies’, adding: ‘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.’
Thousands of desperate civilians are racing to board the last evacuation planes out of the capital before the fragile 72-hour ceasefire would end.
But with heavy explosions and gunfire rocking parts of the capital – and now evacuation planes being shot at – the situation has become even more desperate for those still trapped in Sudan.
There is no indication that due to the renewed threat of violence at the airstrip, evacuation flights will be stopped.
There are fears over the safety of those still trapped in the war-torn country. Air strikes, tanks and artillery shook Khartoum – the site of most of the violence – on Friday and a heavy bombardment pounded the adjacent city of Bahri, illustrating just how desperate the situation has become.
In persisting ceasefire violations, heavy gunfire and detonations rattled residential neighbourhoods of the capital region where fighting has been concentrated over the past week.
“The situation this morning is very scary. We hear the sounds of planes and explosions. We don’t know when this hell will end,” said 65-year-old Bahri resident Mahasin al-Awad.
The escalation of violence between the warring factions came hours after both sides accepted a 72-hour extension of the truce.
At least 512 people have been killed and close to 4,200 wounded by the fighting since April 15, and a humanitarian crisis has mushroomed.
SaharaReporters
