Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) report via their social media that they shot down a cargo jet in western Sudan. Judging by the wreckage, it was an IL-76 with Russian citizens on board.

This was reported by the Russian Embassy in Sudan.

The plane was shot down in the Malha area of North Darfur, in western Sudan.

On October 21, 2024, RSF released a statement that they had destroyed an Antonov aircraft used by the Sudanese military as a bomber.

However, the wreckage shows that in fact an IL-76 cargo plane was actually shot down. In particular, a flight safety manual was found on which the name of the airline and the aircraft’s tail number were listed.

This helped to identify the downed IL-76T aircraft, tail number EX-76011, which belongs to the Kyrgyz airline New Way Cargo Airlines.

Previously, the airplanes of this airline were accused of transporting military cargo from the United Arab Emirates to Chad. From where these cargoes were then delivered to the Rapid Support Forces.

Prior to that, one of the New Way Airlines aircraft was involved in air transportation in support of the Libyan National Army forces of General Khalifa Haftar in violation of the arms embargo imposed by the UN Security Council.

A badge of one of the crew members was also found, identifying him as the chief engineer of the Airline Transport Corporation FZC, a company based in the Free Zone of Sharjah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates.

In addition, a Russian passport of one of the crew members was found. There is currently no information about the surviving crew members.

In October, the Sudanese Army destroyed a Russian Federal-M armored vehicle used by local militants of the Rapid Support Forces group.

In the battles for the capital Khartoum, government forces during the clearing of the Al-Lamap area knocked out units of the Rapid Support Forces and destroyed their equipment, including one Federal-M armored vehicle.