A Russian Antonov military plane carrying Sudanese judges and injured people crashed on Thursday in the Darfur region of Sudan, with all those on board killed, according to the Sudanese Red Crescent.
The plane was travelling from the city of El Geneina – located in the west of Sudan, near the border with Chad – to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. The aircraft crashed five minutes after taking off from an airport in the state capital of El Geneina.
Army spokesman Amer Mohammed al-Hassan told AFP that among the victims were seven crew members, three judges and eight civilians, four of them children.
“An Antonov 12 military plane crashed Thursday night after take off from El Geneina killing its seven-member crew, three judges and eight civilians, including four children, who were on board,” said the spokesman Amer Mohammed Al Hassan.
It had been delivering aid to the area, where there have been deadly clashes between ethnic groups in recent days.
At least 48 people have been killed and 241 wounded in that violence, according to Sudan’s Red Crescent.
It said the armed clashes broke out on Sunday night in El Geneina, and continued until Monday between Arab and African groups, with several houses torched.
The aircraft was transporting people injured in a tribal conflict in Darfur to Khartoum for treatment.
An investigation was underway to determine the cause of the crash.
