Recent events in Sudan that have seen armed battles break out between paramilitary forces and the country’s army brought Khartoum International Airport (KRT) into the spotlight, with a passenger plane preparing for take-off coming under fire on Saturday.

The Airbus A300 Saudi aircraft bound for Riyadh was damaged by gunfire, with Saudi officials issuing a statement later saying “all members of the aircraft’s cabin crew have safely arrived at the Saudi embassy in Sudan”.

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) declared it had seized control of KRT with reports of casualties at the airport, numerous flights due to arrive or leave the country cancelled and landing permissions denied to nearly all aircraft.

Footage on social media showed members of the RSF parading through the passenger terminals at the capital’s airport carrying firearms, the paramilitary group also claiming to have taken control of Merowe Airport and its military base.

While the military developments are a major blow to everyone with connections to Sudan, the country’s aviation sector was hopeful of seeing an expansion of scheduled services this year from Khartoum across the globe, Badr Airlines recently announcing it was launching flights between the country and London Gatwick.

The outbreak of violence in the country situated directly south of Egypt, across the Red Sea from Saudi Arabia, comes shortly after reports of a strain in the relationship between the military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his number two, paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, over integrating the RSF into the regular army.