RSF drone attacks intercepted over Khartoum, River Nile states

Sudanese military air defenses intercepted several suicide drones allegedly launched by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in an attempt to target civilian areas in Khartoum and River Nile states, Sudan News reported Wednesday.

The report said air defense systems belonging to the Sudanese Armed Forces engaged the drones, while additional unmanned aerial vehicles were reportedly detected over the city of El-Obeid in North Kordofan State.

No immediate information was available on casualties or damage, and the RSF has not commented on the reported attacks.

According to Sudan News, the drone launches coincided with what it described as setbacks suffered by the RSF on multiple fronts in the Kordofan region, where Sudanese army forces have recently stepped up military operations.

The media 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 has expanded 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.