A Sudanese military transport aircraft crashed while attempting to land at an airbase in Port Sudan on December 9, 2025, killing everyone on board, according to reports cited by Al Jazeera.
The plane was identified as an Ilyushin Il-76 and crashed as it approached the Osman Digna airbase near the city’s main airport in eastern Sudan. Two military sources told AFP that a technical malfunction during the landing attempt appears to have caused the crash. The Sudanese Armed Forces have not publicly disclosed how many people were on the aircraft, but Al Jazeera reported that all crew members were killed.
The airbase has already seen violence this year. The report noted that the last major incident at the site occurred in May, when drones struck multiple locations in Port Sudan, including the airfield. That detail matters because it places the crash inside a wider pattern of instability around one of the army’s important eastern facilities.
The crash also came at a difficult moment for the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces. Al Jazeera said the incident took place as the RSF seized the Heglig oilfield in West Kordofan, while military sources also indicated that the army was withdrawing from Babnusa. Together, those developments point to mounting pressure on the SAF across central Sudan.
Heglig is especially important because it is Sudan’s largest oil facility and a major revenue source for both Sudan and South Sudan. The loss of such infrastructure can have consequences well beyond the battlefield, affecting government finance, pipeline logistics and regional politics.
Although the plane crash itself appears to have been accidental, it happened against a backdrop of expanding military setbacks. Port Sudan is one of the places where the army has tried to maintain control and a functioning command structure despite the broader war. A crash there is therefore more than a transport mishap; it is another sign of the strain under which the military is operating.
The war in Sudan has already killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 12 million, according to the figures cited in the report. Humanitarian agencies also warn that food shortages are severe, with millions facing acute hunger.
The Il-76 crash adds to the sense that Sudan’s conflict is generating constant losses, even away from major front lines. Whether caused by mechanical failure or broader operational stress, the incident shows how war can damage even the infrastructure and logistics systems that armies depend on to keep functioning.
