UAE denies 'false' Sudan claim of destroying Emirati plane carrying mercenaries

The United Arab Emirates rejected on Thursday an announcement from Sudan's armed forces saying they had destroyed an Emirati plane carrying Colombian mercenaries.

Sudan has been locked in a war between its army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April of 2023.

On Wednesday, army-aligned state TV said at least 40 people were killed when Sudan's air force struck an Emirati aircraft transporting mercenaries as it landed at a paramilitary-controlled airport in the war-torn Darfur region.

"These unfounded allegations... are entirely false, lack any evidentiary basis, and represent a continuation of (Sudan's) ongoing campaign of disinformation and deflection," a UAE official told AFP.

A Sudanese military source, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, had said the UAE plane "was bombed and completely destroyed" at Darfur's Nyala airport.

Nyala airport has recently come under repeated air strikes by the Sudanese army.

The army, led by Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, has accused the UAE of supplying advanced weaponry to the RSF via the airport.

Abu Dhabi denies the accusations.

"It is particularly significant that it is one of the warring parties making these allegations as it is directly involved in the hostilities and has every incentive to manipulate the narrative," the UAE official said Thursday.