Sudan Conflict Escalates as RSF Intensifies Drone Strikes on Army-Held Territories
Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have sharply escalated their use of drone warfare, launching successive attacks on strategic locations controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), marking a dangerous shift in the year-long civil conflict.
For the second consecutive day, RSF-operated drones struck critical infrastructure in Port Sudan—Sudan’s de facto interim capital since May 2023—igniting massive fires at major fuel depots and sparking panic among civilians. Dramatic footage shared online showed plumes of black smoke rising over the city as emergency responders battled the inferno.
“This was a terrorist act targeting vital national assets,” Energy Minister Mohieddin Naeem Mohamed Saeed said during a visit to the bombed site. He accused the RSF of launching “systematic assaults on civilian infrastructure,” adding that such strikes threaten the daily lives of ordinary Sudanese.
The assault on Port Sudan follows drone strikes on a military airbase, a commercial warehouse, and residential areas on Sunday—the first attacks on the Red Sea port city since full-scale fighting erupted between the RSF and the military in April 2023.
Elsewhere, Sudanese army officials reported intercepting a wave of drones aimed at Kassala Airport early Monday morning. Four drones were allegedly downed by air defenses with no reported casualties. Kassala State Governor Al-Sadiq Mohamed Al-Azraq warned that the city is “facing increasing aerial threats” and appealed for federal military reinforcements.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports from local media indicate drone strikes on the Merowe Dam in northern Sudan and army installations in El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan State. The Sudanese military has not issued formal statements on these developments.
Military analysts say the RSF’s use of advanced drones suggests a significant leap in its combat capabilities, posing new challenges for army air defenses. Analysts caution that this aerial advantage could extend the conflict, as neither side has shown signs of relenting.
“RSF’s drone strategy is designed to stretch the army’s defensive capacity and shift the balance on the battlefield,” said one regional security expert, adding that the group’s growing ability to strike deep into government-held territory is a troubling development.
The Sudanese civil war—fought primarily between the SAF and the RSF—has plunged the country into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and crippled critical infrastructure.
As drone warfare emerges as a central feature of the conflict, international observers warn that without a ceasefire or meaningful political dialogue, the violence risks spiraling further—threatening stability across the wider Horn of Africa.
