The Sudanese Army has claimed to have shot down a UAE plane carrying dozens of Colombian mercenaries, as reported by the Sudanese official television, adding that they were heading to Nyala airport, the capital of the South Darfur state in Sudan under the control of the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
According to the television reports cited by several local media, the plane was carrying at least 40 mercenaries and weapons shipments were also destroyed in the attack.
According to the military version, the plane was shot down during landing thanks to intelligence from the Army's secret services, which had been tracking the flight of the aircraft since its takeoff from an airbase in the Persian Gulf, without specifying its origin.
The Army emphasized that this attack represents "a clear message both domestically and internationally: Sudanese sovereignty is a red line", as reported by local media Sudan Ajbar and Sudan Tribune. It also stressed that the goal is to curb foreign interference.
This attack comes two days after the Sudanese government, controlled by the military leadership, reiterated its denunciation of the involvement of Colombian mercenaries fighting alongside the paramilitary group RSF in the ongoing war in the African country, following a surge in violence in the strategic western region of Darfur.
The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a press release that "it has repeatedly pointed out the involvement of hundreds of thousands of mercenaries from neighboring and non-African countries" in the war, a phenomenon that "threatens peace and security in the region and on the continent."
In this regard, it recalled that the Army "has all the documents and evidence proving the participation of mercenaries from the Republic of Colombia," among others who are "sponsored and financed by the United Arab Emirates," accused of supporting Sudanese paramilitaries despite Abu Dhabi's denial.
The war in Sudan broke out on April 15, 2023 and since then, tens of thousands of people have died and another 13 million have been forced to flee their homes, turning the African country into the scene of the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet, according to the United Nations.