Sudan evacuation plane is SHOT as it lands at Khartoum

A Turkish evacuation plane was shot at by paramilitary forces in Sudan as it was landing in the capital of Khartoum today, damaging the fuel supply.

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shot at the aircraft at the Wadi Saeedna airbase, the army said, in a sign of just how dangerous the situation is for those racing to evacuate civilians from the war-torn country.

The plane managed to land safely after the paramilitary forces opened fire and is being fixed, Sudan’s army said.

Earlier reports claimed that a crew member was wounded in the attack but Turkey’s defence ministry said there were no injuries while confirming the plane had been fired at.

The RSF denied firing at the plane and said the army was ‘spreading lies’, adding: ‘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.’

Thousands of desperate civilians – including around 3,000 Britons – are racing to board the last evacuation planes out of the capital before the fragile ceasefire ends in 72 hours.

But with heavy explosions and gunfire rocking parts of the capital – and now evacuation planes being shot at – the situation has become even more desperate for those still trapped in Sudan.

There is no indication that due to the renewed threat of violence at the airstrip, evacuation flights will be stopped but Foreign Secretary James Cleverly yesterday urged Britons to leave while they can.

He warned that if the clashes between the warring factions became too dangerous for evacuation flights to bring Britons to safety, the mission could become ‘impossible’. 

So far, 897 Britons – many of them young children – have been safely evacuated to Cyprus and now the UK on eight flights as the government races to evacuate thousands of Britons before the window of opportunity closes. 

They somehow survived the nightmarish journey through the violent streets of Khartoum in order to reach the British troops waiting for them at the Wadi Saeedna airbase – all without a UK military escort. 

But there are fears over the safety of those still trapped in the war-torn country. Air strikes, tanks and artillery shook Khartoum – the site of most of the violence – on Friday and a heavy bombardment pounded the adjacent city of Bahri, illustrating just how desperate the situation has become. 

In persisting ceasefire violations, heavy gunfire and detonations rattled residential neighbourhoods of the capital region where fighting has been concentrated over the past week. 

‘The situation this morning is very scary. We hear the sounds of planes and explosions. We don’t know when this hell will end,’ said Bahri resident Mahasin al-Awad, 65. 

‘We’re in a constant state of fear for ourselves and our children.’ 

The escalation of violence between the warring factions came hours after both sides accepted a 72-hour extension of the truce.

At least 512 people have been killed and close to 4,200 wounded by the fighting since April 15, and a humanitarian crisis has mushroomed. 

Britons have described seeing thieves and killers roaming the streets of the capital, with the corpses of civilians killed in the fighting between warring factions littering the ground in scenes that have been compared to the horror film The Purge. 

They spoke of buildings on fire, residential areas turned into battlefields and youths roaming with large knives.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow…