Drone attacks continue across Sudan amid intensified fighting. (Xinhua)

NNA News - Drone attacks have continued across Sudan for a second consecutive day, hitting Khartoum and several other cities as fighting intensifies across the Kordofan and Blue Nile regions. According to a Sudanese military source and eyewitnesses, drone attacks were reported in Khartoum, El Obeid in North Kordofan, Kadugli in South Kordofan, and Atbara and Al-Damar in River Nile State.

The Sudanese army’s air defences and ground-based anti-aircraft systems engaged the drones as the attacks expanded beyond areas close to the main front lines. A military source told Xinhua that the army’s air and ground defences repelled widespread drone attacks on Wednesday and Thursday targeting several cities and military positions.

The source said more than 35 drones, which he attributed to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), were shot down on Wednesday over areas including Atbara, Al-Damar and El Obeid. On Thursday, the source said 10 drones were shot down in Omdurman, three in River Nile State and five in South Kordofan. The source said the air defences prevented several drones from reaching their intended targets.

In Omdurman, an eyewitness reported hearing loud explosions and seeing columns of smoke as air defences engaged what was described as a swarm of drones. Another eyewitness in El Obeid reported successive explosions and the activation of army ground defences as drones attacked the city. In Kadugli, an eyewitness said ground defences engaged drones targeting the city and shot down several before they reached their targets.

The reported attacks on Atbara and Al-Damar, which are relatively distant from the main front lines, point to the widening geographical reach of drone warfare in Sudan. The Sudanese army had not issued an official statement on the latest attacks at the time of the report, while the RSF had not commented on allegations that it was responsible. The escalation comes as fighting continues on several fronts, particularly in North Kordofan and Blue Nile State.

In North Kordofan, clashes have continued after the army retook several strategic areas in recent weeks and reopened parts of a key export road linking Kordofan with Khartoum. The General Command of the Sudanese Armed Forces said Thursday that its forces and allied troops had repelled an RSF attack on the Jabrat Al-Sheikh area involving more than 250 combat vehicles.

The army said the attacking forces suffered losses in personnel and equipment before withdrawing towards the outskirts of Darfur. Fighting has also continued in Geisan, a locality in Blue Nile State near the Ethiopian border. Local authorities said an attack by the RSF and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North began on Wednesday and targeted the town during the agricultural season. The authorities described the attack as a “full-fledged war crime.”

The International Organization for Migration reported that about 2,500 people, or roughly 500 families, were displaced from Geisan following the clashes. Most of those displaced moved to other areas within the locality, while others crossed the border into Ethiopia. Sudan has been engulfed in fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF since April 2023. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions inside the country and across its borders.

The latest escalation, particularly the reported expansion of drone attacks into areas away from the main battlefronts, is adding to concerns over the widening impact of the conflict on Sudanese communities.