RSF drone attacks target 5 Sudanese cities, military intercepts drones

Sudanese army air defenses intercepted drones launched by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in attacks targeting five cities across the country Wednesday, military sources and witnesses said.

Military sources, speaking to Anadolu on condition of anonymity, said the RSF launched drone attacks on Omdurman and Bahri in the capital Khartoum, as well as Atbara and Al-Damar in River Nile State and El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State.

Witnesses said swarms of drones flew over Omdurman and Bahri before army air defenses engaged them, with explosions heard in several areas.

In River Nile and North Kordofan states, witnesses told Anadolu that anti-aircraft fire echoed across Atbara and Al-Damar, while the army shot down a drone over El-Obeid.

Videos circulating on social media purported to show drones flying over Omdurman, Bahri and Atbara, with some crashing into residential areas. Anadolu could not independently verify the footage.

No immediate information was available on casualties or damage. Neither Sudanese authorities nor the RSF had commented on the attacks as of 7.50 am GMT.

Sudan News said the drone launches coincided with setbacks suffered by the RSF on multiple fronts in the Kordofan region, where army forces have recently stepped up military operations.

The outlet said the attacks appeared aimed at boosting the morale of RSF fighters following battlefield losses, although the claim could not be independently verified.

The reported drone attacks come as the Sudanese army expands operations in the Kordofan region, where it says it has captured a series of towns and strategic positions from the RSF in recent weeks after consolidating control over Khartoum earlier this year.

The RSF has increasingly relied on long-range drones to strike military sites and critical infrastructure in army-held territory, with recent attacks targeting Port Sudan, Atbara, Dongola and other cities far from the main front lines.

Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the Sudanese army and the RSF over plans to integrate the paramilitary force into the regular military. The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.