AFP PHOTO
A plane crash in Sudan on Sunday killed 32 crew members and government officials, including a cabinet minister. State-run Sudanese media outlet SUNA blamed “bad weather conditions” for the crash in the mountainous southern border region of Talodi, where the government officials were travelling to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr.
Among the fatalities were federal Minister of Guidance and Endowments Ghazi Al-Saddiq, State Minister of Youth and Sports Mahjoub Abdul-Rahim Tutu and State Minister of Tourism, Antiquities, and Wildlife Eissa Daifalla. The casualties included more state government ministers and Sudanese military personnel.
President of Sudan Field Marshall Omar Hassan Al-Bashir publicly expressed his condolences to the Sudanese people for the lost lives on Sunday evening .
A statement on the Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy’s Facebook page on Monday stated that he had called Bashir to pay his condolences.
The border area has been a historically contentious zone between Sudan and South Sudan. Talodi was the site of many conflicts between government forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). However rebel leaders have denied any involvement in the incident, including rebel spokesman Arnu Ngutulu Lodi who told AFP that the crash occurred outside rebel territory. Khartoum has not elaborated on the cause of the crash beyond the reported “bad weather conditions.”
