RSF says it downed Sudanese military plane near El Fasher
April 3, 2025 (EL FASHER) – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said on Thursday they shot down a Sudanese military aircraft near El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, killing its crew.
The claim followed a statement on Wednesday by the RSF’s deputy leader, Abdal Rahim Hamdan Daglo, who said the paramilitary group had found the “cure” for the Sudanese Air Force, which his brother and RSF commander, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemetti” Daglo, had previously called a “disease.”
In a statement cited by Sudan Tribune, the RSF said it “executed an operation resulting in the downing of an Antonov aircraft and the death of all its crew members in El Fasher.”
Eyewitnesses told Sudan Tribune they saw the plane burning in the air before it crashed, the local news outlet reported.
People described as close to the army mourned the crew, led by Colonel Pilot Mutaz Ibrahim. Other crew members named were Captain Pilot Abdallah Kamal, Captain Navigator Saif al-Din Mallah, Captain Technician Ahmed Mahmoud, Captain Radio Mohamed Abdallah, Assistant Radio Asim Mohamed Zain, Assistant Badawi Balil, and Assistant Yasir Fox, according to reports.
Activists, however, suggested the plane crashed due to a technical failure after dropping food aid to residents of El Fasher, who have been under siege by the RSF for almost a year, according to activist accounts.
The RSF has tightened its siege on El Fasher in recent months after its fighters overran nearby villages and destroyed water sources, leading to severe shortages of goods and drinking water, residents and aid groups say. The situation has prompted calls for an airlift to prevent starvation.
The Sudanese Air Force has regularly bombed RSF positions east of El Fasher. RSF fighters have attacked the city repeatedly since May 11, 2024, but have failed to capture it from the army and allied groups who control it.
On Wednesday, the army’s 6th Infantry Division in El Fasher said air strikes hit more than 10 RSF sites inside the city and nearby, destroying three tractors, five four-wheel-drive vehicles, and a truck carrying weapons, ammunition and supplies bound for the town of Melit.