Nine killed in civilian plane crash in Sudan as war enters 100th day

A picture taken from Omdurman shows smoke billowing north of Khartoum. AFP

Nine people, including four soldiers, were killed Sunday evening when a civilian plane crashed in Sudan due to “technical” reasons, the army said, as the war in the east African country entered its 100th day.

The army said a child had survived the crash of an Antonov plane which killed nine others.

Port Sudan Airport, on the east coast, is the only operational airport in the country and has been largely spared by the war

However, the fighting has left millions trapped in their homes and some without water, particularly in the suburbs of the capital Khartoum where residents were calling for food donations to help them survive.

In a war-devastated district of the city, Abbas Mohammed Babiker told the AFP news agency that he and his family have only been able to eat once a day. On Sunday, a citizens' support group issued an urgent appeal for donations to help people like him.

“We only have enough for two more days,” Mr Babiker said from Khartoum North, where residents said at least one person, a local musician, has already died from hunger.

Since April 15, battles between the army led by Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, have killed more than 3,900 people, according to the latest toll from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.

More than 2.6 million people have been internally displaced, mostly from Khartoum, the International Organisation for Migration said.

Thousands who remain in the capital, particularly in Khartoum North, are trapped without water after the local water station was damaged at the start of the conflict.

Residents say there is only intermittent electricity and food has nearly run out.

Sudan's main pro-democracy coalition announced that its leadership will hold an expanded meeting in Cairo on Monday and Tuesday to discuss ways to end the continuing war between the Sudanese army and the RSF.

The opposition coalition said that they will hold consultations with Sudanese community leaders who are in Egypt on “building a new future for Sudan,” the Forces for Freedom and Change said.