A series of drone attacks targeted Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, on Wednesday, with eyewitnesses reporting activity lasting several hours. According to an army source, military officials claim to have shot down “most of the drones,” which were focused on two army bases located in the northwest of the city.
This escalation comes amidst an ongoing conflict that has engulfed Sudan since April 2023, pitting the national army against the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The war has resulted in tens of thousands of fatalities and has contributed to the largest hunger and displacement crises in the world.
While the city has seen relative calm since the army regained control earlier this year, the fighting has predominantly shifted to the south and west of the country. However, the RSF has been repeatedly accused of executing long-range drone strikes on both military and civilian targets.
Eyewitnesses in Omdurman, part of greater Khartoum, reported seeing drones overhead and hearing loud explosions from the north throughout the night on Wednesday. This marked the second consecutive day of drone strikes in the capital, as reported by the Sudan Shield Forces, an armed group aligned with the army. They revealed that two of their members were killed by a drone attack in the East Nile district on Tuesday.
The Sudan Shield Forces are led by Abu Aqla Kaykal, a former RSF member who defected to the army last year, aiding military advances. However, both the army and RSF forces have been implicated in serious human rights violations throughout the conflict.
Following the army’s campaign to recapture Khartoum, over 800,000 displaced individuals have reportedly returned to their homes. The army-backed government has launched an extensive reconstruction initiative and is working to relocate its officials back from the wartime capital of Port Sudan.
Despite these efforts, large areas of Khartoum remain in ruins, with many residents facing frequent power outages attributable to RSF drone strikes. The conflict’s most intense fighting is occurring in Darfur, where RSF forces have encircled and attempted to seize control of the city of El-Fasher for nearly 18 months. This city is crucial; if the RSF captures it, they would dominate all of Darfur and significant portions of southern Sudan, while the army retains control over the east, center, and north.
El-Fasher stands as the last major city in Darfur resisting RSF control, emerging as a crucial strategic battleground in the ongoing war. According to the UN, more than 400,000 civilians are currently trapped there, facing dire conditions as mass starvation takes hold. Daily assaults have reportedly targeted mosques and hospitals, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. Furthermore, the RSF has been accused of attacking displacement camps that are already suffering from famine, prompting warnings from the UN regarding potential mass ethnic killings.
