Naba Sudan platform continues its investigative report on the “death planes” bringing harm to Sudan. In this episode, we trace suspicious flights to Libya's Benghazi after presenting evidence and images in previous episodes of this series that revealed Emirati support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), causing international embarrassment for the UAE.
The UAE has taken special precautions, such as disabling transponder devices on the aircraft and providing false information about flight destinations and routes upon takeoff. This was evident in flight NWY9101, registered as 76019-EX, where flight permits indicated a route from Abu Dhabi to Almaty, Kazakhstan. However, the flight actually traveled from Abu Dhabi Airport to Bosaso Airport, where a UAE base is located, as discussed earlier.
The operating company of the aircraft has two hubs, in Minsk and Sharjah, and is known for conducting suspicious flights in Africa. Notably, two of its aircraft were targeted in Somalia in March 2007—one was hit by an RPG missile on March 9, 2007, and the other was downed by ground defenses on March 23, 2007.
In its pursuit of alternative supply routes, the UAE has drawn attention with unusual aircraft movements in northeastern Libya, where planes turn off tracking devices as they approach Benghazi. It seems the UAE has started using Libyan territory to support the militia, as highlighted in the Colombian mercenaries scandal, where mercenaries entered Sudan through the Libyan border.
Below are some of the flights that have been tracked:
The company is known for its ties to Russia’s Wagner Group and was added to the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions list in 2021. It was later banned by the United Kingdom, the European Union, Switzerland, and Japan. It is believed that the company’s founder is Viktor Bout, an internationally wanted Russian arms dealer who was arrested in 2008 in Thailand during a joint operation by Thai and U.S. authorities. He was charged with selling weapons and anti-aircraft systems and remained detained until his release in a prisoner exchange deal with the United States in 2022.
The aircraft operating company was included in the U.S. sanctions list in August 2024 due to its connection to the Wagner Group and its role in transporting mercenaries to and from Libya, Mali, and the Central African Republic, as well as trafficking rare animals between Mexico and Venezuela.
The operating company is relatively new, established in July 2023, and has ties to the UAE, as its planes were purchased from Sky One, a UAE-based company.
