### Sudanese Paramilitary Claims Downing of Cargo Plane in Darfur; Russian Involvement Under Investigation

In a dramatic turn of events, Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Monday that they had shot down a cargo jet in Darfur. This claim is currently being scrutinized by Russian diplomats amidst the ongoing conflict. Mobile phone footage captured at the scene shows RSF fighters displaying what they allege to be identity documents recovered from the crash site, hinting at foreign involvement in the Sudanese conflict.

The incident is said to have occurred in the Malha region of northern Darfur, not far from the Chad border. According to a message from Russia's Embassy in Khartoum, there is a possibility that Russian nationals were on board the downed aircraft. The RSF, embroiled in a conflict with the Sudanese army since April 2023, claims the jet was a "foreign warplane" assisting the Sudanese military by dropping "barrel bombs" on civilians.

While the RSF asserts they brought down the aircraft with a surface-to-air missile, the identity documents shown in the footage include a Russian passport and an ID card linked to a UAE-based company, whose contact number has since been disconnected. A crumpled safety card at the crash site identified the plane as an Ilyushin Il-76, operated by New Way Cargo of Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz civil aviation officials have yet to comment on the incident.

Adding to the complexity, a recent report by the Conflict Observatory, funded by the U.S. State Department, has linked New Way Cargo’s Ilyushin Il-76s to transferring arms to the RSF. The report also indicated that the UAE facilitated these arms transfers through flights to Aéroport International Maréchal Idriss Deby in Amdjarass, Chad. Although the UAE has maintained these flights support a local hospital, the observatory's findings cast doubt on this claim, suggesting the efforts are militaristic rather than humanitarian.

The ongoing conflict in Sudan has thus far claimed over 24,000 lives according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project. The Sudanese army has intensified its offensive near Khartoum, with allied forces clashing with the RSF in Darfur. Sudan continues to experience instability since the ousting of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019, with the short-lived transition to democracy disrupted by a military coup in October 2021, led by two rival generals, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.

Furthermore, accusations have recently surfaced, accusing the RSF, along with allied Arab militias, of attacking ethnic African groups—a grim echo of the genocidal campaign carried out by the Janjaweed in the early 2000s, for which al-Bashir faces charges at the International Criminal Court.