For the third consecutive day, drones targeted the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and its airport on Thursday, Saudi-based news channel Al Arabiya reported.
The drone attacks on the airport are escalating. They illustrate how drone attacks are increasingly a worldwide problem.
Russia has used mass drone attacks against Ukraine, and the Iranian-backed Houthis also carried out drone attacks against Israel over the last two years.
Sudan has been in the midst of a civil war since 2023. Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, a state-run news agency, blamed the rebel faction for the attacks.
“The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted Sudan’s Khartoum airport on the second straight day ahead of its reopening on Wednesday,” the report said, based on local media reports.
Al Arabiya reported: “A witness living in South Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum, said, ‘At four in the morning, I heard the sound of two drones passing over us, and a short time later, I heard the sound of anti-aircraft fire directed at the engineering and medical corps.’”
Sudan’s Rakoba News reported: “Flames and smoke were reported rising inside the airport following the drone attack.”
The second attack, earlier this week, included several drones, Anadolu reported.
“The latest assaults occurred as Khartoum International Airport prepares to resume domestic flights on Wednesday after more than 30 months of closure due to the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese army and the rebel group,” the report said. “There was no immediate comment from the Sudanese authorities regarding the attack or any damage sustained.”
Drones have also been used on other fronts in Sudan. A drone had struck a power station at Sennar in the southeast, Anadolu reported.
“Three suicide drones targeted Sennar Dam, the city’s major dam on the Blue Nile,” the report said. “Two hit the decommissioned transformer station, while the third fell outside the reservoir without causing damage. Another power transformer station was struck west of Roseires Dam in the same state, causing a complete power outage in the city and plunging it into total darkness, according to witnesses.”
Meanwhile, the drone attacks took place as the airport prepared to reopen, Al Arabiya reported.
Agence France-Presse (AFP), a Paris-based news agency, reported that the reopening was postponed until “further notice.”
“After the army regained control of Khartoum earlier this year, restoring and resuming operations at the airport became a top priority for the military-led government, in an attempt to signal a return to normalcy in areas under its control,” the report said.
Al Arabiya reported that the Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti,” have increased their drone attacks.
The increased drone attacks matter to the wider region. They illustrate how precision kamikaze drones are now increasingly being used.
The development also means they could be trafficked to other nefarious actors in the region. Some of these groups could then wreak havoc by targeting various sites.