Deadly attacks hit Kordofan as scrutiny grows over drone warfare in Sudan

Nearly 40 people were killed and dozens injured this week in a series of attacks across Sudan’s Kordofan region, as analysts point to the expanding use of drones in the war.

At least one person was killed and three others injured earlier today after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted a World Food Programme (WFP) aid convoy in North Kordofan, according to a statement from the Sudan Doctors Network (SDN). The convoy was reportedly en route to deliver humanitarian assistance to El Obeid, the state capital.

In a separate statement, the network said that at least 12 civilians were injured on Thursday evening when Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) drones struck Soug El Na’am (the ostrich market) in West Kordofan on the border with South Sudan. The drones reportedly hit the fuel section of the market.

Also on Thursday, at least 22 people were killed in artillery shelling that struck El Kuweik Military Hospital in South Kordofan, according to another SDN statement. Those killed included the hospital’s medical director and three other medical staff members. Eight others were injured. The network blamed the attack on the RSF.

The hospital strike came a day after RSF drone attacks killed at least 15 people in the state capital, Kadugli, hours after the SAF said it had broken a two-year siege on the city, as reported by Radio Dabanga.

SAF base in Egypt

The reported attacks come amid growing scrutiny of regional military involvement in Sudan’s war. On Tuesday, The New York Times published an investigation alleging the existence of a covert Egyptian military airbase embedded within a land-reclamation project in East Oweinat, near Egypt’s border with Sudan.

According to the report, the base has been used to launch drone strikes against the RSF, with air operations increasing following the fall of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.

Retired Brig. Gen. Adel Abdellatif, a former Sudanese Air Force officer, told Radio Dabanga that the distance between East Oweinat and targets in Kordofan and Darfur could limit the effectiveness of such operations.

“This allows the RSF sufficient time for early monitoring and response, including shooting down drones before they reach their targets,” Abdellatif said, adding that long distances can weaken radar and electronic warfare performance. He attributed the SAF’s advances along the Delling-Kadugli axis this week to the presence of ground forces capable of holding territory.

Escalating drone warfare

Since the outbreak of war on April 15, 2023, both the SAF and RSF have increasingly relied on drones. According to Abdellatif, the SAF operates Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci drones, while the RSF uses Chinese-made drones, including larger models and smaller aircraft intended to distract air-defence systems.

The introduction of Akinci drones last year marked a significant escalation, due to their longer range and heavier payloads, he said. By December, at least two Akinci drones were reportedly operating from the Egyptian base and carrying out strikes inside Sudan, according to Abdellatif and analysts cited by the NYT.

Despite the escalation, Abdellatif argued that drone warfare alone is unlikely to prove decisive. Both the SAF and the RSF, he added, retain the financial and technical capacity to replace lost drones and deploy electronic jamming and air-defence systems.

He pointed to a prolonged conflict, citing the war in Ukraine as an example of how drone warfare can “intensify fighting without delivering a decisive outcome.”