Crashed IL-76 in North Darfur: Sorting through the wreckage

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CIR’s Sudan Witness project verified that an Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft crashed in the Al-Malha region of North Darfur state on 21 October. Analysts geolocated footage of the crash site to an area 115 kilometres (km) northeast of Kutum, North Darfur.

The BBC and other media outlets reported that three Sudanese nationals and two Russians were killed in the crash. At the time of writing, the circumstances surrounding the crash are still unclear, with social media users proposing conflicting narratives.

Sudan Witness verified the presence of another destroyed aircraft resembling an IL-76 just two weeks earlier on 8 October.

Verifying the incident

On 21 October 2024, pro-Rapid Support Forces (RSF) social media channels circulated images and videos showing a crash site. The RSF posted a statement to Telegram in which they claimed that they shot down a “foreign military aircraft supporting the [Sudanese Armed Forces] SAF.” On 21 October, a pro-RSF Facebook account shared a video showing RSF fighters next to debris and human remains, which was geolocated to an area 115 km northeast of Kutum in the Al-Malha region of North Darfur.

Figure 1: Planet satellite imagery from 22 October showing burn scars over an area in Al-Malha, North Darfur State [14.767130, 25.560130] (source: Planet Labs PBC)

Sudan Witness identified the approximate location through analysing Planet satellite imagery, which showed a burn scar over 130 m in length. The exact location was determined based on the footage of the crash site, which showed a distinct mountain and a mountain range. Using PeakVisor, a tool used to identify mountains and measure elevation, Sudan Witness matched the mountain shape to Jebel Murwat, and the mountain range to the range spanning from Jebel Barbetti to Koni.

Figure 2: Panorama created by analysts at Sudan Witness to show Jebel Murwat and mountains to the south spanning from Jebel Barbetti to Koni, found in the footage from 21 October and on PeakVisor (source: Facebook)

Identifying the plane

Sudan Witness determined that the aircraft was an Ilyushin Il-76 based on three factors. Firstly, a pro-RSF Facebook account shared a video on 21 October, that Sudan Witness verified was taken at the same location, showing two RSF soldiers standing over the debris of a turbofan engine. Sudan Witness matched components of the engine debris based on an image of an intact Ilyushin Il-76 engine from WikiCommons (figure 3).

Figure 2: Panorama created by analysts at Sudan Witness to show Jebel Murwat and mountains to the south spanning from Jebel Barbetti to Koni, found in the footage from 21 October and on PeakVisor (source: Facebook)

Secondly, on 21 October, Sudan News shared a video to X, that Sudan Witness verified was at the same site, showing RSF fighters inspecting debris surrounding the plane. Sudan Witness determined that the visible debris was the front section of the plane’s stabiliser, as used onIlyushin Il-76 aircrafts (figure 4). Lastly, on the afternoon of 21 October an OSINT account on X shared an image of a safety card, providing passengers with information on what to do in the event of a crash, referring to an “Il-76” with the registration number EX-76011. Although the authenticity of the safety card could not be verified, a search of the registration number on the open source flight tracking platform Flight Radar shows that the plane was registered in Kyrgyzstan. On 22 October, Kyrgyzstan State Civil Aviation Agency confirming the registration number following the crash in a statement.

Figure 4: Comparison of images showing a plane stabiliser component among debris verified at the crash site (left) and a reference photo showing the same type of component being used on an Ilyushin IL-76 (right) (sources: X and X)

The crew

Other footage of the crash site also showed personal documents, including a Russian passport and an ID card for Manas International Airport in Kyrgyzstan, which RSF fighters claimed were found at the crash site. Although Sudan Witness could not verify the authenticity of the documents, it identified two people who may have been on the aircraft.

The first potential passenger was identified by seven images of a Russian passport allegedly recovered from the scene, which were posted on a pro-RSF Telegram channel on 21 October. The name on the document is Anton Alexandrovich Selivanets (АНТОН АЛЕКСАНДРОВИЧ СЕЛИВАНЕЦ). On the same day, a pro-RSF channel posted a video showing the same man in the cockpit of an Il-76. However, Sudan Witness has not been able to confirm that this individual was involved in the incident, or whether the Il-76 is the same aircraft that crashed.

The second potential passenger was identified by an image of an ID card allegedly found at the crash site, posted on the same pro-RSF Telegram channel on 21 October. According to the ID, the individual is named Viktor Granov and affiliated with the Airline Transport Incorporation. Airline Transport Incorporation FZC is a United Arab Emirates (UAE) based company registered in Sharjah, UAE. In addition, the ID card features the logo for the Manas International Airport in Kyrgyzstan (figure 5). According to private Kyrgyz news outlet AKIpress, Manas International Airport (in Kyrgyzstan) released a press statement noting that the ID card allegedly found at the crash site did not belong to any of its employees.

Furthermore, in a video shared to a pro-RSF Telegram channel on 21 October, an RSF fighter inspecting the debris can be seen holding a bottle of OSKA water, which is a Saudi brand commonly sold in both the UAE and Sudan. In addition, a video posted on pro-RSF Telegram channel on 21 October showed shredded Sudanese banknotes (500 SDG). While both the RSF and their supporters have suggested foreign interference may have been at play in the crash, these documents suggest that the aircraft may have operated in Sudan.

Figure 5: Images of a Russian passport and a Manas International Airport ID card and Sudanese banknotes allegedly found at the crash site (sources: Telegram, Telegram and Telegram)

Clashing narratives

The RSF released two official statements regarding the incident. On 21 October, the RSF posted a statement to Telegram claiming they had destroyed a “foreign warplane” that they said was responsible for conducting airstrikes on civilians in Al-Malha. Later that day, the RSF posted a second official statement to Telegram claiming that RSF fighters shot down the plane and blaming the SAF for colluding with “foreign entities and mercenaries”. However, the plane may have registered in Sudan at the time of the crash. According to the Kyrgyz state-run outlet Kabar News, the Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected claims surrounding foreign interference. The Kabar News article added that an aircraft under the registration number EX-76011 was de-registered from the Kyrgyzstan Civil Aviation Registry on 12 January 2024, and was then registered in Sudan.

On 21 October, the Russian embassy in Sudan published a statement to its official Telegram channel acknowledging the crash. The statement claimed that the embassy was working with Sudanese authorities to establish the circumstances surrounding the crash. The SAF had not released an official statement on the incident at the time of writing. Following the RSF’s claims that the aircraft carried out airstrikes in the Al Malha region, Sudan Witness verified that eight craters became visible in the vicinity of the crash on Planet satellite imagery on 22 October. These craters were not present in earlier images (figure 6).

Figure 6: Satellite imagery from 22 October showing eight craters in the Al-Malha region (Source: Google Earth, Planet Labs PBC)

Other IL-76 activity in Sudan

Almost two weeks before the crash on 21 October, Sudan Witness verified the destruction of an aircraft resembling an Ilyushin Il-76 in West Kordofan state. In a post on X on 8 October, a pro-SAF journalist claimed that an “Emirati supply plane” crashed in the Al-Qurain area in North Kordofan. Analysis of Planet satellite imagery from 3 October showed an aircraft resembling an Ilyushin Il-76 on an airstrip 8 km south over the border in West Kordofan state (figure 8).

Planet satellite imagery from 6 October showed that the plane likely suffered significant burn damage while stationed at the runway. The burned aircraft can be seen at the northern end of the runway (figure 8). The satellite image was corroborated by photos posted by a pro-SAF journalist on 13 October, which showed two images of an Ilyushin Il-76 with burn damage to its engines. The journalist claimed that the images were of the aircraft identified on satellite imagery. Sudan Witness geolocated the image to the airstrip in West Kordofan where the plane had been seen on satellite imagery. The images were cross referenced with PeakVisor, which showed the mountains of Jebel Sukunja Kebir and Jabal Adashir in the background (figure 7). Based on this, Sudan Witness assessed that the image of the damaged plane seen in the journalist’s post on X was the same damaged plane seen on satellite imagery.

Figure 7: Geolocation of the damaged aircraft using PeakVisor, near Al-Qurain, West Kordofan on 13 October. [14.048120, 27.672160]. (Source: X, PeakVisor)

Finally, Planet satellite imagery from 15 October showed that the aircraft had not moved since 3 October, likely due to the verified damage. Although this confirms other Il-76 activity in Sudan in the month of October, Sudan Witness has not seen evidence to date that this aircraft was linked with the Al-Malha incident.

Figure 8: Planet satellite imagery from 3 October showing an aircraft resembling an Ilyushin-76 on a newly constructed runway near Al-Qurain, West Kordofan state; imagery from 4 October showing the aircraft moved slightly near the end of an apron; imagery from 6 October showing a burned aircraft resembling an Ilyushin-76; and imagery from 15 October showing a new aircraft resembling an Ilyushin-76 parked on the runway next to the burned aircraft. [14.048120, 27.672160] (Source: Planet Labs PBC, Planet Labs PBC, Planet Labs PBC)

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