Sudan’s Army Says RSF Hit Turkish Evacuation Plane

A burned vehicle is seen in Khartoum, Sudan April 26, 2023. (Reuters)
A burned vehicle is seen in Khartoum, Sudan April 26, 2023. (Reuters)
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Sudan’s Army Says RSF Hit Turkish Evacuation Plane

A burned vehicle is seen in Khartoum, Sudan April 26, 2023. (Reuters)
A burned vehicle is seen in Khartoum, Sudan April 26, 2023. (Reuters)

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shot at a Turkish evacuation plane as it was landing at Wadi Seyidna airport outside Khartoum on Friday, damaging its fuel system, Sudan's army said.

Hundreds have died and tens of thousands of people have fled in two weeks of conflict between the army and its rival.

The two factions agreed late on Thursday to prolong a ceasefire by 72 hours to allow for humanitarian access, but fighting flared in parts of the capital Khartoum on Friday, according to eyewitnesses and live video broadcasts.

Türkiye’s defense ministry confirmed that a Turkish evacuation plane had been fired at and said there were no injuries. The RSF denied firing at the plane and said the army was "spreading lies".

"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," the RSF said in a statement.

The Sudanese army said the plane was being repaired.



Syria Defense Minister Rejects Kurdish Proposal to Remain Distinct Military Bloc

Fighters from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army faction ride in a "technical" pickup truck at a position near the Tishrin Dam in the vicinity of Manbij, in the east of Syria's northern Aleppo province, on January 10, 2025 amidst ongoing battles with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)
Fighters from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army faction ride in a "technical" pickup truck at a position near the Tishrin Dam in the vicinity of Manbij, in the east of Syria's northern Aleppo province, on January 10, 2025 amidst ongoing battles with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)
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Syria Defense Minister Rejects Kurdish Proposal to Remain Distinct Military Bloc

Fighters from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army faction ride in a "technical" pickup truck at a position near the Tishrin Dam in the vicinity of Manbij, in the east of Syria's northern Aleppo province, on January 10, 2025 amidst ongoing battles with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)
Fighters from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army faction ride in a "technical" pickup truck at a position near the Tishrin Dam in the vicinity of Manbij, in the east of Syria's northern Aleppo province, on January 10, 2025 amidst ongoing battles with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)

Syria's new defense minister said on Sunday it would not be right for US-backed Kurdish fighters based in the country's northeast to retain their own bloc within the broader integrated Syrian armed forces.
Speaking to Reuters at the defense ministry in Damascus, Murhaf Abu Qasra said the head of the Kurdish fighters, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, was procrastinating in its handling of the complex issue.