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Sudan paramilitary launches major drone strikes on Khartoum, other cities
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Conflict & Security

Sudan paramilitary launches major drone strikes on Khartoum, other cities

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched coordinated drone strikes on the capital Khartoum and other army-controlled cities on Wednesday.
  • The attacks, described as the largest coordinated assault in months, targeted Khartoum, El-Obeid, Atbara, and El-Damer, with army defenses engaging the drones.
  • The conflict, ongoing since April 2023, has resulted in over 200,000 deaths and created the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.

Sudan's capital Khartoum and other army-controlled cities came under a barrage of drone strikes Wednesday, marking the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces' (RSF) largest coordinated assault in months. An AFP correspondent, witnesses, and an army source confirmed the attacks, which targeted Khartoum, El-Obeid in South Kordofan, and the northern cities of Atbara and El-Damer.

The RSF attacked the capital, the Kordofan city of El-Obeid, and the northern cities of Atbara and El-Damer "with a large number of drones, which our anti-aircraft defenses engaged with".

— army sourceDescribing the coordinated drone attacks on multiple cities.

The army reported its anti-aircraft defenses engaged the drones in multiple locations. In Khartoum North, two drones struck a mosque and an electricity transformer in the El-Droshab area. Witnesses in Atbara and El-Damer also reported hearing explosions and seeing drones. Civilians in Tamboul, southeast of Khartoum, described being in a "state of fear."

state of fear

— witnessDescribing the civilian reaction to drones appearing above the town of Tamboul.

No immediate casualties were reported from the attacks, including the strike on the Khartoum North mosque. The conflict between the regular army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has raged since April 2023. The United Nations describes the war as a "war of atrocities," with aid workers estimating over 200,000 deaths and the creation of the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.

unleash

— Mohamed Hamdan DagloDaglo's threat to his fighters following the army's recent gains.

The RSF's offensive appears to be a retaliatory strike after the army pushed them off a key highway connecting Khartoum to El-Obeid last month. Daglo had previously threatened to "unleash" his fighters, who are accused of war crimes. The conflict has largely reached a stalemate, with both leaders vying for battlefield advantage rather than pursuing negotiations.

war of atrocities

— UNThe United Nations' description of the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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