RSF Drone Strikes on Sudan Army Targets Break Calm in Eastern City

RSF Drone Strikes on Sudan Army Targets Break Calm in Eastern City
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RSF Drone Strikes on Sudan Army Targets Break Calm in Eastern City

RSF Drone Strikes on Sudan Army Targets Break Calm in Eastern City

At least three drones struck Sudanese army targets Tuesday in the eastern state of Gedaref, which had previously been largely spared the country's devastating war, military and security sources said.

For almost a year, Sudan has been gripped by fighting between the regular army, which is backed by the government and state security apparatus, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

One drone "struck state security and intelligence headquarters, but did not cause significant damage" and another landed nearby, a security source told AFP from Gedaref, more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the capital Khartoum.

A witness in Gedaref reported "loud anti-aircraft fire" from the army.

Another witness said there was increased military presence in the city as "shops shut down" for fear of escalation.

By Tuesday afternoon, state governor Mohammed Abdelrahman said "the situation is now safe and stable."

He added in a statement that "security services will mobilize" across the state.

In Al-Faw, 150 kilometers to the west, a military source said "a drone had bombed" an army division, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Al-Faw is only 25 kilometers east of the front line between the army and the paramilitaries.

Eastern Sudan had until now been considered a safe haven for millions of civilians displaced from Khartoum and other battlegrounds.

According to the latest figures from the United Nations, nearly half a million people are sheltering in Gedaref state alone.

North of Gedaref on the Red Sea, the city of Port Sudan has become a makeshift headquarters for government ministries loyal to the army command. The port city has also become the base for United Nations relief efforts.

Nearly all aid coming into Sudan -- where famine has all but taken hold and disease outbreaks are on the increase -- flows through the east.

In Al-Jazira state, Sudan's pre-war breadbasket where witnesses have reported increased clashes, the army has "made progress" towards state capital Wad Madani, a military source said early Tuesday.

The RSF has had nearly uncontested control of the state since December, when the army withdrew in the face of advancing paramilitaries.

In the vast western region of Darfur, also nearly entirely controlled by the RSF, witnesses reported army air strikes on three state capitals -- Nyala, Al-Daein and El Fasher.

Both sides have been accused of war crimes, including the indiscriminate shelling of residential areas.

A UN expert report released last year determined that the army in Darfur was "not only unable to protect civilians but also used aerial bombing and heavy shelling in urban areas," often resulting "in the heaviest losses of civilian life".

Since last April, the fighting has killed many thousands -- including up to 15,000 in one Darfur town -- and displaced 8.6 million people.



Israeli Strikes on Gaza Kill 15 People, Mostly Women and Children

Palestinians carry the bodies of those who were killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike, during their funeral in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians carry the bodies of those who were killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike, during their funeral in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Israeli Strikes on Gaza Kill 15 People, Mostly Women and Children

Palestinians carry the bodies of those who were killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike, during their funeral in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians carry the bodies of those who were killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike, during their funeral in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Sunday, May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday killed 15 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, according to local health officials.
Two of the strikes hit tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Another seven people were killed in strikes elsewhere, including a man and his child in a Gaza City neighborhood, according to hospitals and Gaza's Health Ministry.
Israel has sealed Gaza off from all imports, including food, medicine and emergency shelter, for over 10 weeks in what it says is a pressure tactic aimed at forcing Hamas to release hostages. Israel resumed its offensive in March, shattering a ceasefire that had facilitated the release of more than 30 hostages.
The UN and aid groups say food and other supplies are running low and hunger is widespread.
Children carrying empty bottles raced after a water tanker in a devastated area of northern Gaza on Sunday. Residents of the built-up Shati refugee camp said the water was brought by a charity from elsewhere in Gaza, The Associated Press reported. Without it, they rely on wells that are salty and often polluted.
“I am forced to drink salty water, I have no choice,” said Mahmoud Radwan. “This causes intestinal disease, and there's no medicine to treat it.”
COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian civilian affairs, says enough aid entered during a two-month ceasefire this year and that two of the three main water lines from Israel are still functioning. Aid groups say the humanitarian crisis is worse than at any time in the 19-month war.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 52,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants or civilians. The offensive has destroyed vast areas of the territory and displaced some 90% of its population of around 2 million.