Sudan has been unstable since the removal of dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019, leading to a military coup in 2021 and ongoing violence between rival military factions.

The cargo plane, identified as a Russian-made Ilyushin Il-76, was reportedly delivering equipment and medicine to el-Fasher, a city controlled by the Sudanese army.

The aircraft was operated by New Way Cargo, a Kyrgyz airline, which has been implicated in arms transfers to the RSF, a claim supported by reports from the U.S. State Department-funded Conflict Observatory.

Conflicting reports about the cause of the crash suggest it may have been shot down or resulted from a technical fault, highlighting the chaotic nature of the conflict.

Speculation surrounds the aircraft's mission, with suggestions it may have been transporting weapons from Russia, although this claim remains unverified.

The ongoing conflict in Sudan, which has escalated since April 2023, has resulted in over 24,000 deaths and widespread famine, exacerbating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

Russia's embassy in Sudan is coordinating with the military-led government to gather information about the crash and the crew, which reportedly included Russian nationals.

The RSF asserted that the aircraft belonged to the Sudanese military and claimed to have recovered its black box and operational documents from the crash site.

In a significant incident in Darfur, Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claimed to have shot down a cargo jet, prompting an investigation by Russian diplomats.

Mobile phone footage from the crash site showed RSF fighters with identity documents, including a Russian passport and an ID linked to a UAE-based company.

The civil war has displaced over 10 million individuals, with the RSF accused of targeting ethnic African groups, echoing past atrocities linked to former dictator Omar al-Bashir.

United Nations experts have deemed allegations of UAE support for the RSF as credible, with accusations that the UAE has facilitated arms transfers to the group.