A cargo plane with a Russian crew, which was shot down in Sudan on October 21, could have been used to deliver weapons and ammunition. It was allegedly shot down immediately after the board put down its weapons.
Reuters writes about this with reference to sources and documents.
A source in the Rapid Response Forces of Sudan (RSF) said that the downed plane was an IL-74 transport plane used to deliver weapons, ammunition and provisions to the town of Al-Fashir, where the Sudanese army is trying to repel RSF attacks.
Currently, it is not known what route the plane was traveling and under what circumstances it was shot down. However, 67-year-old Russian Viktor Granov, who had connections with Russian arms dealer Viktor But, was probably among the crew members. Granov allegedly previously managed two airlines that were accused of violating the arms embargo in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It is also noted that 33-year-old Anton Selivanets was on board the downed plane. Remains of their documents were found at the scene of the incident.
Selivanetsʼ photos on social media include pictures of him against the backdrop of IL-76 aircraft with the World Food Program (WFP) logo at airports in Ethiopia. At the same time, the organization said that Selivanets is not a crew member or a WFP contractor.
"Someone is illegally using our companyʼs logo," they said.
RSF also sent Reuters a video they say was taken by a cellphone taken from the plane. Reuters identified one of the men in the video as 61-year-old Russian Aleksander Kabanov. Kabanovʼs social media accounts indicate that he served in the elite Air Force and spent several years in Africa, including Uganda, Sudan and South Sudan.
What is known about the downed plane
Previously, a Russian-made Il-76 cargo plane was shot down in Sudan. The Russian Embassy in Sudan said it was investigating the incident. It is known that the Sudanese military usually has crews from former Soviet countries, writes Reuters.
The alleged registration number EX-76011 was seen among the photos of the documents that were circulated on the Internet and in some media after the plane was shot down.
EX-76011 is the Il-76 number formerly operated by the Rapid Response Force of Sudan (RSF) New Way Cargo. It supplied weapons to the RSF through the Republic of Chad with the support of the United Arab Emirates.
RSF officials said they could not confirm the planeʼs registration number. The UAE has denied reports of providing military support to the RSF. A group of UN experts recognized this information as true.
Flight tracking data and satellite images analyzed by Reuters show that EX-76011 flew to Chad until last November. However, the latest available data on the plane, from December 2023, shows it was flying to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast, where the armyʼs de facto headquarters are located.
Information from the Swiss intelligence service Ch-aviation shows that EX-76011 was operated by New Way Cargo, an airline based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and allegedly operated by the UAE airline Astraway FZC.
The Kyrgyz Civil Aviation Agency told Reuters that the plane was deregistered on January 12 this year and handed over to Sudan. At the same time, Astraway FZC says it stopped working with EX-76011 and his team in December 2023.
Safety instructions with number EX-76011 are marked with the name "NeWay Cargo". The logo and style are similar to those of NeWay Logistics LLC, a charter broker in Dubai. The owner and general manager of NeWay Logistics LLC said they have no affiliation with the airline or the flight.
What preceded
On April 15 last year, fighting broke out between the Sudanese Regular Army (SAF), led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the countryʼs de facto president, and the Rapid Response Force of Sudan (RSF). RSF opposes the current government and says it wants to establish democracy in the country.
At that time, the journalists wrote that the PMC "Wagner" was helping RSF with weapons, but they did not mention the attacks on the "Wagnerians" themselves.
Ukrainian special forces conducted operations in Sudan against Russiaʼs PMC “Wagner” and their local allies from the Rapid Response Force (RSF), who attempted a coup dʼétat in April.
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