DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said Monday they shot down a cargo jet in the country’s far western reaches of Darfur, a claim that Russian diplomats said they were trying to investigate in the war zone.

Mobile phone footage showed what appeared to be a debris field with fighters from the paramilitary force, known as the RSF, showing off what appeared to be identity documents recovered from the crash.

However, documents also shown in the footage from the crash site suggest the aircraft was affiliated with an airline previously linked to an effort by the United Arab Emirates to arm the RSF in the war, something that has been strenuously denied by the UAE despite evidence.

A message from Russia’s Embassy in Khartoum confirmed its diplomats were investigating the incident in Sudan’s Malha region in northern Darfur near the border with Chad. The embassy’s message said Russians may have been on board at the time.

– The Associated Press