Russia Launches Investigation Into Reports of Cargo Jet Shot Down in Sudan

Russia on Monday announced it is investigating reports of a cargo jet being shot down in Sudan by fighters from a paramilitary force.

Earlier on Monday, Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claimed they shot down a cargo jet in the western region of Darfur. The Associated Press (AP) reported that footage recorded by mobile phone appeared to show debris while RSF fighters displayed what is believed to be identity documents found from the crashed aircraft.

But other documents seen in the clips reportedly indicate the downed plane could have been from an airline once linked to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which was allegedly supplying weapons to the RSF after the paramilitary group became involved in an ongoing conflict against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in April 2023. United Arab Emirates has called allegations that it has armed the RSF "utterly false" and "baseless."

Russia's Embassy in Khartoum said in a message that Russians may have been on board the downed aircraft and that its diplomats had started investigating the crash. In the footage of RSF fighters at the wreckage, one of the identity documents reportedly seen was a Russian passport.

This is a locator map from The Associated Press shows Sudan and its capital, Khartoum. Russia on Monday said it is investigating claims of a cargo plane being shot down in Sudan. AP Photo

The RSF said in a statement that its forces had shot down a "foreign warplane" that was working on behalf of the Sudan's military. The statement added that the cargo jet was dropping bombs on civilians, though the RSF offered no evidence to back up the claim.

"All foreign mercenaries aboard the aircraft were eliminated in the operation," the RSF statement said, per the AP.

The fighters in the phone footage said they used a surface-to-air missile to shoot down the plane. An ID of an UAE-based company was among the documents seen being shown in the footage. Another document identified the aircraft as an an Ilyushin Il-76 and linked it Kyrgyzstan's New Way Cargo airline.

The AP has not received a response from civil aviation officials in Kyrgyzstan as of press time after requesting comment late on Monday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department-funded group Conflict Observatory tied New Way Cargo's Ilyushin Il-76s to UAE arms being sent to the RSF in a report released earlier in October.

The report said New Way Cargo was transferring UAE weapons through flights to Aéroport International Maréchal Idriss Deby in Amdjarass, Chad.

Amdjarass is located across the border from Malha, Darfur, which is the site of the aircraft incident.

UAE officials did not immediately respond to the AP's request for comment.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.