Sudanese authorities prevent a Morocco-bound plane full of gold from leaving the country

The Sudanese authorities have grounded a Morocco-bound plane laden with 84 kg of gold belonging to Moroccan company Managem, Russian news agency Sputnik reports.

A source at the Sudanese ministry of Energy in Khartoum rejected the Rapid Support Forces mentioning a "hijacking". A statement from the latter explained that "the aircraft was not allowed to fly" and that under the former regime, the Department of Economic Security used to deliver the necessary authorizations to transport minerals but that the Rapid Support Forces were entrusted with such a task from there on.

The same source explains that the ban was due to a lack of "prior coordination with the current safety measures". The statement also praised Managem by describing it as : "a large company that uses advanced French mining techniques and has several subsidiaries in African countries".

Since the Al Bashir regime fell on April 11, Sudan is going through instability.

For the record, in 2013, Managem and the Sudanese government formed a joint venture for the exploitation of the Gabgoba gold mine.