The downing of a plane with Russians onboard in Sudan appears to have been an accident during a bout of "friendly fire."

MOSCOW - Russia's Wagner mercenary group said that its fighters had recovered the bodies of its mercenaries killed in a July battle with Tuareg rebels and Islamists during a desert sandstorm in Mali.

The Russian embassy in Sudan says it is investigating reports that a cargo plane with Russian crew was shot down in Darfur, a key battle ground in the civil war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In conflict-torn Sudan, an Il-76 aircraft belonging to the United Arab Emirates, with a partially Russian crew, was shot down. The Mash channel on Telegram reports that the plane was shot down by rebels from the pro-government paramilitary organization Sudanese Rapid Support Forces.