Dozens of SAF recruits killed and injured in RSF drone strike on North Kordofan

A drone strike launched by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed dozens of newly enlisted Sudanese soldiers and wounded several others at a military training facility in North Kordofan’s capital of El Obeid on Monday afternoon.

Eyewitnesses told Radio Dabanga that the drone targeted the barracks, north of the Fifth Infantry Division headquarters. 

“The strike killed dozens of newcomers and wounded many others with injuries of varying severity,” one witness said. The wounded were transferred to El Daman Hospital for emergency treatment.

Authorities reportedly sealed off all roads leading to the hospital and barred civilians from approaching, in what witnesses described as an attempt to prevent information about the extent of the casualties from leaking.

The attack occurred barely an hour after another RSF drone strike hit a joint training headquarters in El Obeid, also causing deaths and injuries, sources said.

Escalating drone war

The latest incident comes amid a sharp escalation in the drone war between the SAF and RSF. On Sunday, the army launched strikes on RSF-held areas in West and North Darfur, resulting in multiple casualties. 

The RSF has also intensified drone assaults over the past week on Khartoum, Ed Debba in Sudan’s Northern State, Tandalti in White Nile state, Delling in the northwestern part of South Kordofan, as well as other towns in South Kordofan.

Military sources say the SAF employs Turkish-made “Baykar Bayraktar Akıncı” drone, while the RSF uses Chinese-manufactured Sunflower-200.

On Tuesday, RSF drones reportedly targeted Khartoum International Airport, just one day before its planned reopening after a closure lasting 921 days. 

Eyewitnesses reported hearing explosions and seeing plumes of smoke rising from the airport and nearby sites in southern Khartoum and Sharg El Nile (East Nile). Videos circulating on social media showed fires and damage from the blasts.

‘El Burhan vows to eliminate RSF’

In a video posted by the head of the Sovereignty Council and Commander-in-Chief of the SAF, Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, appeared at Khartoum Airport, declaring that “no one will be able to threaten this land again.” He reaffirmed his determination to eradicate the RSF and said peace in Sudan must be built on “solid national foundations free from militias and foreign mercenaries.”

El Burhan welcomed ongoing peace initiatives but insisted that “no group supporting the militias will have a role in Sudan’s future.”

The management of Khartoum International Airport had earlier announced that operations would resume on Wednesday, though no official statement has been issued following the renewed RSF attack. The extent of the damage remains unclear.

Civilian casualties in Darfur

SAF drone strikes on Monday reportedly hit RSF positions in Korma, northwest of North Darfur’s capital of El Fasher and Kabkabiya, west of the RSF-besieged capital. 

The Sudanese Revolutionary Forces Alliance stated that 18 civilians, including four children, were killed and several others were wounded, when a drone targeted a camp for displaced people in Korma. Several others were wounded.

‘Growing civilian toll’

Military expert Maj Gen Amin Majzoub told Radio Dabanga that the growing reliance on drones by both warring parties “does not lead to any real field control, but instead worsens the suffering of civilians and causes mass displacement.”

He warned that drone strikes on populated areas may constitute violations of the Geneva Conventions and could amount to war crimes if civilians are found to be deliberately targeted.

Majzoub urged both sides to respect humanitarian law and called for international pressure to halt aerial bombardments and open humanitarian corridors.