Sudan's war-torn capital sees second commercial flight land since conflict began

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CAIRO (AP) — A commercial flight landed in the Sudanese capital Sunday for the second time since a devastating war broke out in the northeastern African country nearly three years ago.

The domestic flight, operated by the national flag carrier SUDANAIR, landed at the Khartoum International Airport Sunday afternoon, according to the state-run SUNA news agency.

The flight took off Sunday morning from the eastern Red Sea city of Port Sudan, which had served as an interim seat for the government until the administration moved back to Khartoum earlier this year, SUNA said.

The reopening of the Khartoum International Airport was a crucial step in the government’s efforts to normalize life in the capital, which has been wrecked during the ongoing war between the military and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Sunday’s flight was the second commercial flight to arrive in Khartoum since a flight operated by the privately owned Badr Airlines landed in the airport in October last year. At the time the RSF launched drones at the airport to disrupt the government's efforts to reopen the facility. The miliary retook Khartoum from the RSF earlier last year.

The war in Sudan began in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in Khartoum and elsewhere in the country. The airport was severely damaged in the first weeks of the war.

The devastating war has killed more than 40,000 people, according to U.N. figures, but aid groups say that is an undercount and the true number could be many times higher.

It created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis with over 14 million people forced to flee their homes. It fueled disease outbreaks and pushed parts of the country into famine.