Sudan Tribune has obtained information indicating that flight permits were issued for military cargo planes to cross Sudanese airspace to Chad in 2023. These flights are suspected to have transported weapons and military equipment to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), prompting calls for an investigation into the entities that issued the permits without the knowledge of the ruling military authorities.
The authorities had excluded relief and foreign evacuation flights from the airspace closure order issued after the outbreak of conflict on April 15, 2023. Later, the eastern corridor was reopened to air traffic as of July 31, 2024.
Sources linked to civil aviation told Sudan Tribune that the Air Transport Department issued crossing permits for 109 flights of Ilyushin Il-76 military cargo aircraft without the army’s knowledge between May and July 2023.
These aircraft reportedly departed from the UAE, passed through Entebbe Airport in Uganda, then to South Sudan, crossed Sudanese airspace, and landed at Umm Jars Airport in Chad.
Sudan accuses the UAE of supplying weapons to the RSF via air routes that end at Umm Jars Airport, from which arms are transported to western Darfur and then to other battlefronts in Darfur and beyond.
The information obtained by Sudan Tribune shows that nine aircraft were involved in these permitted flights, including aircraft UR-ZAR (ZetAvia) registered in Ukraine, EX-76005 and EX-76008 (Sapsan Airlines/Bu Shames FZE) registered in Kyrgyzstan, and UR-FSA, UR-FSC, and UR-FSE (Fly Sky Airlines), also registered in Ukraine.
There have been calls for an immediate investigation to identify the entity responsible for issuing the crossing permits, with the probe to include all personnel and officers in the Air Transport Department who were in positions of authority from May to September 2023.
