Military Helicopter Crash Kills Five in Darfur, Sudan Army Says
By Maram Mazen -
Apr 18, 2011
Five military personnel were killed
in a helicopter crash in Sudan’s western region of Darfur today,
Sudanese army spokesman Al-Sawarmi Khaled said.
“It was a technical failure as the helicopter was
landing,” Khaled said by phone from the Sudanese capital,
Khartoum. “It was on an administrative mission.”
The accident took place in El Fasher, the capital of North
Darfur state, Khaled said. Three crew members and two military
passengers were on board the Mi-17 helicopter, he said.
Sudan’s army has been fighting rebels in Darfur since 2003,
when insurgents took up arms, accusing the government of
neglecting the region. The conflict has led to the deaths of as
many as 300,000 people, mainly due to illness and starvation,
and forced about 2.7 million to flee their homes, according to
United Nations estimates. The Sudanese government has put the
death toll at about 10,000.