Mohammed Fattah al-Burhan Rahmane, the son of Sudan’s army chief and de-facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has passed away after sustaining serious injuries in a road accident in Turkey.
The incident occurred in March while Rahmane was riding his motorbike in Ankara, the capital of Turkey.
According to local media reports, he collided with a utility vehicle, resulting in him being thrown several meters from his bike.
Despite being promptly transferred to a hospital and admitted to intensive care, Rahmane succumbed to his injuries, as reported by the private DHA news agency on Friday.
The untimely demise of Rahmane comes amidst a backdrop of a brutal conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese army under the leadership of Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces, led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
This conflict has ravaged the nation for over a year, claiming tens of thousands of lives and displacing millions, leading to what the United Nations has termed the “largest displacement crisis in the world.”
Moreover, the war has exacerbated food shortages, plunging the country into a dire humanitarian crisis, with millions at risk of starvation.
Notably, this is not the first instance of a high-profile individual being involved in a tragic accident in Turkey.
In November last year, the son of Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was implicated in a deadly car accident in Istanbul.
Mohammed, the president’s son, was found guilty by a Turkish court of causing death by negligence after his car collided with a motorbike delivery man, resulting in the latter’s death.
Despite prosecutors seeking a prison sentence of up to six years, Mohammed was fined less than $1,000 for the accident.
Turkey’s close ties with Somalia have been evident over the past decade, with the former serving as the latter’s leading economic partner and enjoying robust military cooperation.
These ties underscore the significance of incidents involving individuals from both countries within Turkey’s borders.