A wave of coordinated paramilitary drone strikes hit key military and civilian infrastructure in and around Sudan’s army-held capital on Tuesday, shattering months of relative calm and underscoring the persistence of the country’s devastating conflict.
Witnesses reported that the strikes targeted the Al-Jaili oil refinery, the Al-Markhiyat power substation in Omdurman, and the Yarmuk weapons factory in Khartoum. Fires broke out at the power station after four drones struck the site, while parts of the capital experienced blackouts. A source at the national electricity company, however, said damage was minimal.
Military sources confirmed that an attempted strike on Wadi Seidna air base was intercepted by air defence systems. Another drone strike on an army facility in Kafuri wounded several troops.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), through its Tasis administration, later claimed responsibility for the “precise and successful” attacks. The RSF, which has been at war with Sudan’s regular army since April 2023, has increasingly used drones to target infrastructure and military sites in army-controlled territories.
The strikes come months after Sudan’s military recaptured Khartoum in March and launched a reconstruction campaign that has seen around 600,000 displaced residents return, according to the United Nations.
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Despite the reconstruction push, the wider conflict has devastated Sudan. Tens of thousands have been killed, nearly 10 million displaced within the country, and another four million forced to flee abroad, creating what aid agencies call the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis.
The renewed assault on Khartoum follows weeks of intense fighting in Darfur, particularly around El-Fasher, the last major city in the region under army control. The United Nations has accused the RSF of committing “myriad crimes against humanity” during its ongoing siege of the city.
Efforts at mediation between Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo have so far failed, with both sides insisting on military victory as the only resolution.