A plane carrying a Sudanese cabinet minister to Eid holiday celebrations in Talodi, South Kordofan, also had on board top security officials when it crashed fatally on Sunday morning.

Guidance and Endowments Minister Ghazi Al-Saddiq perished in the accident, as did a major-general in the National Intelligence and Security Service, nearly a dozen leaders of the Popular Defense Forces, and key figures in the Khartoum State government.

State radio reported that the Russian-made Antonov plane crashed into a hill because of bad weather, while attempting to land in Talodi town at about 8:00 am.

Talodi has served as an important headquarters and de facto seat of government of South Kordofan State alongside Kadugli, the actual political capital.

The town was besieged earlier this year but rebels failed to take it despite several attempts. The loss of Talodi to SPLA might have resulted in the opening of a second rebel supply route into South Sudan.

Today's accident on the joyous Eid holiday is being marked as a national tragedy by state media which released a list of the 'martyred' victims.

The list of victims (as presented by the commercial Al Shorouq TV channel):

• Federal Minister of Guidance and Endowments' Ghazi Sadiq
• State Minister of the Ministry of Tourism Eissa Daifallah
• Mohamed Hassan El-Jaafari, Khartoum State commissioner
• Ali El-Gelaini, Minister of Education, Khartoum State
• Makki Ali Belail, Head of Justice Party
• Commissioner of Khartoum North, Tareq Mubarak Khamees
• Major General Ahmed El-Tayyeb Abu Karoun (NISS) and his bodyguards
• Ismail Abdel Kareem (Popular Defense Forces)
• Brigadier Lugman Omar (Popular Defense Forces)
• Abdel Gader Omar (Popular Defense Forces)
• Waiz Saleh (Popular Defense Forces)
• Awad El-Kareem Sir El-Khatim “Kabila”
• Omar Mahjoub Ahmed, vice-coordinator of PDF Khartoum state
• Abd El-Aati Ahmed, PDF – Media Section
• Bashir Fadel El-Sayyed, PDF – Media Section
• El-Sadiq El-Mekawi, coordinator PDF of South Kordofan
• Major-General Salah Ismail
• Mohamed Bakhit, Islamic Fiqh Congregation
• Mahjoub Abdel Rahim, Ministry of Youth
• Major-General (Police) Musa Ahmed
• Salah Ma'nawiyat, PDF
• Abdel Hay El-Rabi, State TV
• Ismail Abdel Rahim, State TV
• 6 cabin crew members

File photo