A drone launched by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces was shot down as it approached Khartoum International Airport on Monday, airport officials and the military government said, in the latest attack of a war now entering its fourth year. The interception occurred as the drone came in from the south and caused no damage or casualties, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the incident publicly.
The Sudanese military confirmed the drone was intercepted. A military official told the Associated Press the unmanned aircraft had been launched from a neighboring country but declined to provide additional details.
Flights at the airport were halted briefly before authorities said they would resume following routine safety checks. The airport’s gradual reopening last year had been a milestone in efforts to restore a sense of normal life to Khartoum, which was the epicenter of the war that erupted between the army and the RSF in April 2023. In February, a commercial flight landed at the airport for only the second time since the conflict began.
Monday’s attempted strike came two days after an RSF drone attack hit a civilian vehicle on the outskirts of Khartoum, killing at least five people. The capital had largely been spared attacks by the paramilitary group since the army recaptured it last year, but the recent strikes mark a return of sporadic violence to the city.
The war has exacted a staggering toll. At least 59,000 people have been killed, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, an independent monitoring body. Aid groups caution the true death toll could be far higher because access to active combat zones across the vast country remains severely limited.
The United Nations reports the conflict has displaced 12 million people and pushed parts of Sudan into famine. The RSF and the army have been locked in a grinding war for control of the country since April 2023, when tensions between the two forces exploded into open combat in Khartoum and quickly spread across Sudan.