Turkish military plane on Sudan evacuation mission comes under gunfire

ANKARA

A Turkish military plane on a mission to evacuate Turkish citizens from conflict-torn Sudan came under gunfire, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said on Friday.

A Turkish C-130 evacuation plane, which was headed to Wadi Seidna Air Base for the evacuation, came under small arms fire, said a ministry statement.

The plane landed safely, and no injuries were reported, the statement added.

Earlier, speaking on the continuing evacuation, the ministry said: “The first group of our citizens was safely brought to Türkiye by planes belonging to the Turkish Armed Forces.”

Evacuation efforts will continue until all Turkish citizens are transported out of Sudan, it added.

A cease-fire that came into force at Tuesday midnight was the latest attempt to stop the fighting that first erupted on April 15.

At least 460 people have been killed and more than 4,000 injured in clashes between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since the conflict began, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and paramilitaries concerning military security reform.

The reform envisages full RSF participation in the military – one of the main issues in negotiations with international and regional parties for a transition to civilian, democratic rule.