Prior to its scheduled departure for Riyadh, the Airbus A330 headed for Saudi Arabia "was exposed to gunfire damage... with passengers and crew on board."
Sudan's capital, Khartoum, was hit by deadly fighting on Saturday, which included gunfire directed at a Saudia passenger plane preparing to depart for Saudi Arabia.
The Airbus A330 was damaged, but all members of the cabin crew were safely evacuated to the Saudi embassy. Flights to and from Sudan were suspended, while aircraft in the area were ordered to return.
Meanwhile, clashes erupted between Sudan's army and paramilitaries, causing three civilian deaths, including one at Khartoum's airport in the city centre. The airport and presidential palace were reportedly under the control of the paramilitaries, which the army denied.
The fighting follows a period of increasing tensions between military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his number two, paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, over the planned integration of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group into the regular army.
The move was intended to enable a return to civilian rule, following a 2021 coup that deepened the economic crisis in the country. The Saudi embassy urged all its citizens to remain at home, while the Gulf Cooperation Council and Saudi foreign ministry expressed concern about the violence.
