19 killed in Sudan military plane crash after aircraft’s takeoff

Sudanese military aircraft crash in Omdurman, killing 19, amid ongoing civil war and tensions with paramilitary group.

A Sudanese military aircraft crashed in the city of Omdurman, killing at least 19 people, military and health officials said on Wednesday (February 26, 2025)

The Antonov aircraft crashed Tuesday (February 25, 2025) while taking off from the Wadi Sayidna air base north of Omdurman, the military said in a statement. Omdurman is the sister city of the capital, Khartoum.

The military said that armed forces personnel and civilians were killed in the crash, but didn’t disclose how many. It didn’t say what caused the crash.

The Health Ministry, however, said at least 19 people were killed, whose bodies were transferred to the Nau hospital in Omdurman. The hospital also received five injured civilians, including two young siblings.

The Ministry said that the aircraft crashed over a civilian house in the Karrari district in Omdurman, suggesting that there were people dead on the ground.

Sudan has been in a state of civil war since 2023 when tensions between the military and a notorious paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, exploded into open warfare.

The fighting has wrecked urban areas and has been marked by atrocities, including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings, that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in the western region of Darfur, according to the United Nations and international rights groups.