South Sudanese pilot Samson Ohide killed in airstrike in Darfur – sudan

South Sudanese pilot Samson Ohide has died after the aircraft he was co-piloting was hit in an airstrike in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Ohide was aboard a privately owned Kenyan-registered plane that had been contracted to deliver supplies to Nyala, a city under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The aircraft was reportedly struck by suspected Sudanese Armed Forces warplanes while offloading cargo on the ground at Nyala Airport on Saturday, a source told Hot in Juba.

The strike is said to have killed several others, including RSF personnel and other crew members on the flight. While the RSF has yet to issue a statement, sources from the Sudanese army confirmed the attack.

At the time of his death, Ohide was serving as Secretary General of the South Sudan Pilots Association. Tributes have since flooded social media, with family, friends, and colleagues remembering him as a kind and hardworking pilot. He served as a co-pilot on the ill-fated flight.

Observers believe that the Rapid Support militia receives military support from the UAE, such as weapons and logistics