By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A commercial flight landed in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum on Sunday for the second time since a devastating war broke out in the northeastern African country almost three years ago.
The April 2023 was sparked by a power struggle between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, exploding into open fighting in Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.
This caused severe damages to infrastructure, including airports in the first weeks of the war.
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 is seen as a crucial step in the government’s efforts to normalize life in the capital, which has been wrecked during the ongoing war.
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 that 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.
According to U.N figures, the devastating war has killed more than 40,000 people, but aid groups say the number could be more.
It has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis with over 14 million people forced to flee their homes.
