The Sudanese army announced the killing of 18 people, both military and civilian, in a plane crash near the city of El Geneina, capital of West Darfur State, in western Sudan, on Thursday evening.
"A Antonov 12 military plane was involved in a crash this evening, Thursday, five minutes after it took off from El Geneina airport, which led to its crash," Sudanese Armed Forces spokesman Brigadier Amer Muhammad Al-Hassan said in a press statement.
Al-Hassan added that the accident resulted in the "martyrdom of its seven-member crew (four officers and three other ranks), in addition to three judges and eight citizens, including four children."
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, which crashed a few kilometers from the airport, and an armed forces spokesman said an investigation was under way to find out the causes of the accident. The plane was heading to the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
Government sources said that Sudanese Minister of Justice Nasreddine Abdel Bari was supposed to be among the passengers on the plane, but an urgent reason led to his stay in the city.
In the city of El-Geneina, there have been clashes between tribal groups during the past few days, which resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries. The city is witnessing an intense military presence, as security reinforcements have arrived, and senior officials visited in recent days.