The Ilyushin Il-18 is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades and was widely exported. Due to the aircraft's durability, many examples achieved over 45,000 flight hours and the type remains operational in both military and civilian capacities. The Il-18's successor was the longer-range Ilyushin Il-62.
The Ilyushin Il-76 is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau as a commercial freighter in 1967, to replace the Antonov An-12. It was developed to deliver heavy machinery to remote, and poorly served areas. Military versions of the Il-76 have been widely used in Europe, Asia and Africa, including use as an aerial refueling tanker, and command center.
TAE Avia, formerly named TransAVIAexport Airlines, is a Belarusian national cargo airline. It is based at Minsk International Airport in Belarus, with a hub at Sharjah International Airport, in the United Arab Emirates.
Ukrainian Cargo Airways was an airline based in Kyiv, Ukraine. It was a state-owned company operating charter passenger and cargo services. It also overhauled, leased and sold aircraft, engines and aviation equipment. Its main bases were Kyiv Boryspil International Airport (KBP) and Zaporizhzhia International Airport (OZH).
Azza Transport Company was a cargo airline based in Khartoum, Sudan. It operated a cargo charter service throughout Africa and the Middle East and was planning services for Europe. Its main base was at Khartoum International Airport.
Khartoum International Airport is the principal airport in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. The airport has been shut down since it was stormed and occupied on 15 April 2023 during the Battle of Khartoum.
Juba Air Cargo was a cargo airline based in Khartoum, Sudan. It was established in 1996 and operated domestic cargo services. Its main base was at Khartoum International Airport. In 2008 the airline ceased all operations.
On 23 March 2007, a Belarusian Ilyushin Il-76 cargo aircraft operated by TransAVIAexport Airlines crashed in the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia, during the Battle of Mogadishu. The plane was carrying repair equipment and humanitarian aid. According to a spokesperson for the transport ministry of Belarus, the aircraft was shot down. However, the Somali government insisted that the crash was accidental. A crew of eleven on board the aircraft perished in the accident.
Sudan Airways Flight 2241 was a scheduled cargo flight from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates to Khartoum, Sudan operated by a Boeing 707-330C. On 21 October 2009, the cargo plane's No. 4 engine cowling separated during lift off, and in an attempt to turn the plane around, it stalled and crashed north of the airport. All six occupants were killed.
RUS Aviation is a cargo airline headquartered in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates and based at Sharjah International Airport.
Sun Way Flight 4412 was an international scheduled cargo flight from Karachi, Pakistan, to Khartoum, Sudan. On 28 November 2010, the Ilyushin Il-76 operating the flight crashed while attempting to return to Karachi after one of the engines catastrophically failed shortly after take-off. Twelve people were killed in the crash: everyone on board the aircraft and four people on the ground. The engine failure was caused by metal fatigue resulting from operation of the engine beyond its design life.
On 6 July 2011, a Silk Way Airlines Ilyushin Il-76TD cargo aircraft on a flight from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, crashed into a mountainside at an altitude of 3,800 metres (12,500 ft) while descending at night towards Bagram. All nine people on board were killed.
On 30 November 2012, an Ilyushin Il-76 freighter aircraft, operated by the Armenian cargo airline Air Highnesses on behalf of Congolese cargo airline Aéro-Service, crashed on landing at Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, killing all six occupants and 26 people on the ground.
The Rapid Support Forces is a paramilitary force formerly operated by the government of Sudan. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which previously fought on behalf of the Sudanese government. Its actions in Darfur were deemed crimes against humanity by Human Rights Watch.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, generally referred to mononymously as Hemedti, is a Sudanese military officer and the current head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). A Janjaweed leader from the Rizeigat tribe in Darfur, he was the Deputy head of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) following the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état. Since 2013, Hemetti has commanded the RSF. He was considered by The Economist to be the most powerful person in Sudan as of early July 2019.
A civil war between two major rival factions of the military government of Sudan, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allies under the Janjaweed leader Hemedti, began during Ramadan on 15 April 2023. Three minor (neutral) factions have participated in the fighting: Darfur Joint Protection Force, SLM (al-Nur) under Abdul Wahid al-Nur, and SPLM-N under Abdelaziz al-Hilu. Fighting has been concentrated around the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region. As of 14 November 2024, at least 61,000 people had been killed in Khartoum State alone, of which 26,000 were a direct result of the violence. As of 5 July 2024, over 7.7 million were internally displaced and more than 2.1 million others had fled the country as refugees, and many civilians in Darfur have been reported dead as part of the Masalit massacres.
The following lists events during 2024 in the Republic of the Sudan.
Since 15 April 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have occupied the Khartoum International Airport, Sudan's most important airport, during the War in Sudan as part of the Battle of Khartoum.
The following is a timeline of the Sudanese civil war (2023–present) in 2024.
