Sudan military plane crashes, killing 16

A Sudanese military plane crashed in the West Darfur region Thursday evening, killing all 16 people onboard, including two children, the military said. A Sudanese employee of the WFP and his family were among the casualties. Several officers were also among those killed when the plane went down in the restless region of West Darfur, which has recently experienced deadly ethnic clashes. Abeer Etefa, the food program’s spokeswoman for the Mideast and North Africa, said on Friday that one of the organization’s Sudanese employees, who was onboard with his wife and two children, had been killed in the crash. The food program was withholding the staff member’s name and other details, pending notification of next of kin. The plane, a Russian Antonov An-12, crashed five minutes after taking off from an airport in the town of Geneina, according to Brig. Gen. Amer Mohammed al-Hassan, who posted a statement Thursday on the Sudanese armed forces’ Facebook page. An investigation was underway to determine the cause of the crash, although there were no immediate reports of foul play. General Al-Hassan said the casualties included seven troops, three judges and six civilians.<br/>