Warplane crashed: Russians eliminated? VIDEO

Footage has emerged showing members of paramilitary formations standing in a field covered in rubble. Fighters in the video show what appear to be identification documents found in the crash.

The Russian embassy in Khartoum confirmed that Russian diplomats are investigating the incident that happened near the border with Chad. The embassy's message states that Russians could have been on the plane at that moment. The RSF has been at war with the Sudanese army since April last year.

RSF fighters: We shot him down with a surface-to-air missile

Paramilitary forces claim to have shot down a "foreign warplane" that was assisting the Sudanese army. Without offering any evidence, they claim that the downed plane was dropping bombs on civilians. "In the operation, all foreign mercenaries on the plane were eliminated," according to the press release.

In the footage, RSF fighters stand next to the burning wreckage and say they shot down the plane with a surface-to-air missile. They show identification documents, including a Russian passport and an ID card linked to a company based in the United Arab Emirates, whose phone number has been disconnected.

A crumpled security card, also allegedly from the plane, identified the plane as an Ilyushin Il-76 operated by New Way Cargo of Kyrgyzstan. It is interesting that the Conflict Observatory group, which is funded by the US State Department and monitors the war in Sudan, linked the mentioned plane with the armament of the Rapid Support Force. It follows that the RSF may have accidentally shot down the plane.

The country has been unstable for years

A report by the Conflict Observatory points out that weapons from the Emirates were flown to Amjaras, a town in Chad located not far from the border.

"The United Arab Emirates used the airport as a transit point for the delivery of weapons to the RSF," the report said, noting that the Emirates offered a $1.5 billion loan to rapidly expand the airport.

United Nations experts believe that the accusations that the Emirates armed the RSF are "credible". So far, more than 24,000 people have been killed in the war in Sudan. The Sudanese army is currently conducting an intensified offensive near Khartoum, while its allies are fighting the RSF in Darfur.

Sudan has been unstable since a 2019 uprising toppled longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir. The short-lived transition to democracy was disrupted when two generals, Abdel-Fatah Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the RSF, joined forces to launch a military coup in October 2021. However, the two fell out and started a civil war last year.