Fri 28 Apr 2023:
A Turkish military plane on a mission to evacuate Turkish citizens from conflict-torn Sudan came under gunfire, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said on Friday.
A Turkish C-130 evacuation plane, which was headed to Wadi Seidna Air Base for the evacuation, came under small arms fire, said a ministry statement.
The plane landed safely, and no injuries were reported, the statement added.
Earlier, speaking on the continuing evacuation, the ministry said: “The first group of our citizens was safely brought to Türkiye by planes belonging to the Turkish Armed Forces.”
Evacuation efforts will continue until all Turkish citizens are transported out of Sudan, it added.
Turkish military plane on Sudan evacuation mission comes under gunfire
A Turkish C-130 evacuation plane, which was headed to Wadi Seidna Air Base for the evacuation, came under small arms fire, said a ministry statement. The plane landed safely, and no injuries were reported. pic.twitter.com/aqEWoLguNx
— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) April 28, 2023
‘Spreading lies’: RSF denies firing on Turkish aircraft
The Rapid Support Forces has denied firing on a Turkish evacuation plane, accusing the army of “spreading lies”.
The two factions agreed to prolong a ceasefire by 72 hours to allow for humanitarian access, but fighting has flared.
“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.
More than 70 dead in two days in West Darfur capital: Medics
Dozens have been killed in two days of fighting that broke out this week in the capital of Sudan’s West Darfur state, the country’s doctors’ union has said.
The union gave a toll of “74 deaths” in the city of el-Geneina for Monday and Tuesday, adding it was unable to confirm the number of people killed during the rest of the week amid the ongoing clashes.
A cease-fire that came into force at Tuesday midnight was the latest attempt to stop the fighting that first erupted on April 15.
At least 460 people have been killed and more than 4,000 injured in clashes between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since the conflict began, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.
A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and paramilitaries concerning military security reform.
The reform envisages full RSF participation in the military-one of the main issues in negotiations with international and regional parties for a transition to civilian, democratic rule.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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