{"id":88729,"date":"2025-08-08T07:43:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T07:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=88729"},"modified":"2025-08-08T07:43:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T07:43:25","slug":"sudanese-airstrike-hits-darfur-airport-killing-40-suspected-mercenaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=88729","title":{"rendered":"Sudanese airstrike hits Darfur airport, killing 40 suspected mercenaries"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>3 Minute, 43 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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A Sudanese airstrike hit an airport in the country\u2019s Darfur region controlled by a notorious paramilitary group, destroying a suspected Emirati military aircraft and killing dozens of suspected mercenaries, Sudanese officials and a rebel adviser said Thursday.<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s strike on the Nyala airport killed at least 40 suspected mercenaries from Colombia and destroyed a shipment of arms and equipment that were sent by the United Arab Emirates to the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, according to two Sudanese military officials and an adviser to a Darfur rebel leader allied with RSF.<\/p>\n

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren\u2019t authorized to brief the media. The adviser also requested anonymity for his safety.<\/p>\n

Sudan plunged into chaos when simmering tensions between the military and RSF exploded into fighting in April 2023 in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country.<\/p>\n

The fighting has turned into a full-fledged civil war that killed tens of thousands of people, displaced more than 14 million people and pushed parts of the country into famine. The war has been marked by atrocities, including mass killings and rape in what is being investigated as war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.<\/p>\n

\u2018New equation of deterrence\u2019<\/h2>\n

State-run Sudan TV reported the aircraft had taken off from a military base in the Arab Gulf region, and that Sudanese fighter jets struck it when it landed at the Nyala airport. It described the strike as a \u201cblatant message\u201d and a \u201cnew equation of deterrence\u201d against foreign interference in Sudan\u2019s affairs.<\/p>\n

In an emailed response to The Associated Press, the UAE\u2019s Foreign Ministry denied the accusations as \u201cunfounded allegations\u201d that \u201clack any evidentiary basis.\u201d It said the allegations were part of Sudan\u2019s government\u2019s \u201congoing campaign of disinformation and deflection.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was no immediate comment from RSF.<\/p>\n

Responding to the reports, Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on X overnight that he ordered an investigation into the mercenaries\u2019 killing.<\/p>\n

RSF seized Nyala, the capital of South Darfur province, last year as part of the paramilitary group\u2019s push to control the entire region of Darfur. The Sudanese government has accused RSF of turning the city\u2019s civilian airport into a military hub to receive weapons shipments and smuggle gold.<\/p>\n

The Sudanese military has repeatedly struck the airport, saying it targeted aircraft delivering military supplies and mercenaries to RSF.<\/p>\n

U.N. experts confirmed in a report released in April that Colombian mercenaries were present in Darfur and that those mercenaries were hired by a private security firm to support RSF.<\/p>\n

According to the report, the Colombian Foreign Ministry acknowledged that Colombian mercenaries were in Darfur and announced the establishment of a special immediate response group to ensure the safe return of its nationals.<\/p>\n

UAE bars Sudanese planes<\/h2>\n

The Sudanese aviation agency, meanwhile, said that the UAE barred Sudanese planes on Wednesday from landing at its airports, in what it called a \u201csurprise, uncoordinated\u201d measure.<\/p>\n

The Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement that a Sudanese airliner was also barred from taking off at the Abu Dhabi airport, according to a report by the state-run SUNA news agency.<\/p>\n

Relations between the military-allied government in Sudan and the UAE have been frayed over Abu Dhabi\u2019s alleged support to RSF. The Sudanese government severed ties with the UAE earlier this year over the allegations.<\/p>\n

RSF besieges el-Fasher<\/h2>\n

In other war developments, satellite imagery analyzed by the U.S.-based Yale School of Public Health\u2019s Humanitarian Research Lab, or HRL, showed that RSF has imposed a total blockade on el-Fasher, the last major city in Darfur that was still under the military\u2019s control.<\/p>\n

HRL said in a report Wednesday that \u201cthere is no route of the city that RSF doesn\u2019t control,\u201d and that civilians attempting to get out need to pass through a 50-meter-wide (50-yard-wide) RSF control point.<\/p>\n

RSF has been attempting to take over el-Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur province, for more than a year to complete its control of Darfur\u2019s five provinces.<\/p>\n

The paramilitaries have repeatedly attacked the city. HRL said that it had documented the bombardment by RSF of two markets, three schools and two mosques in the city since June.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, RSF conquered the sprawling Zamzam displacement camp on the city\u2019s outskirts, killing hundreds of people and forcing the camp\u2019s population to flee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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