Sudan’s air defenses intercepted a drone aimed at Khartoum International Airport on Monday, airport officials said, preventing it from reaching the facility and causing no reported injuries or damage. The attack came as the war in Sudan, now in its fourth year, continues to batter civilian life and infrastructure even in parts of the capital that have largely avoided major strikes.

The airport officials said the drone was launched by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and was shot down as it approached the airport from the south. They said the interception occurred before the drone could hit its target and that Khartoum International Airport would resume normal operations after additional safety checks.

After the strike, flights at the airport stopped briefly, the officials said, and authorities later indicated services would restart following routine checks. Airport officials previously described the gradual reopening last year as a step toward restoring daily life in Khartoum, which was the epicenter of the fighting that erupted between Sudan’s army and the RSF in April 2023.

The attack also arrived days after at least five people were killed in a separate drone strike reported on the outskirts of Khartoum, with the paramilitary RSF blamed for that earlier attack. In Monday’s incident, a military official told The Associated Press the drone was launched from a neighboring country, while not providing further details.

Officials speaking to The Associated Press about Monday’s drone attack did so on condition of anonymity because they said they were not authorized to speak to the media. The Associated Press also reported that Sudan’s military government confirmed that the drone was intercepted.

The drone attack added another episode to a broader pattern of drone use in Sudan’s conflict, which has displaced 12 million people and pushed parts of the country into famine, according to United Nations figures cited by the Associated Press. An independent conflict-monitoring body, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, also put the war’s death toll at at least 59,000 since it began in April 2023, while aid groups told AP that the true toll could be higher due to limited access in areas of fighting.

Associated Press writer Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this report.