RSF Drones Hit Key Sites in Sudan's South, Says Army Official

Sudanese women who fled intense fighting in al-Fashir sit in a tent made of straw and tree branches at a displacement camp, as the humanitarian situation deteriorates amid the ongoing conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army, in Al Dabba, Sudan, September 6, 2025. (Reuters)
Sudanese women who fled intense fighting in al-Fashir sit in a tent made of straw and tree branches at a displacement camp, as the humanitarian situation deteriorates amid the ongoing conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army, in Al Dabba, Sudan, September 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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RSF Drones Hit Key Sites in Sudan's South, Says Army Official

Sudanese women who fled intense fighting in al-Fashir sit in a tent made of straw and tree branches at a displacement camp, as the humanitarian situation deteriorates amid the ongoing conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army, in Al Dabba, Sudan, September 6, 2025. (Reuters)
Sudanese women who fled intense fighting in al-Fashir sit in a tent made of straw and tree branches at a displacement camp, as the humanitarian situation deteriorates amid the ongoing conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army, in Al Dabba, Sudan, September 6, 2025. (Reuters)

Multiple paramilitary drones attacked key army positions and civilian infrastructure in Sudan's south on Sunday, an army official told AFP, just a week after similar strikes hit the capital.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by a brutal war between the regular armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), killing tens of thousands and displacing millions.

Sunday's strikes targeted the headquarters of the Sudanese army's 18th Division, along with fuel depots on the western bank of the Nile, east of the army-held city of Kosti in White Nile state, the official said.

Additional attacks hit the Kenana airbase and airport, located southeast of Kosti, while drones also struck the Um Dabakir power station, east of the city, the official added on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Eyewitnesses in Kosti, located some 320 kilometers (200 miles) south of Khartoum, reported extremely loud explosions during the attacks.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks and the extent of the damage remains unclear.

An army spokesman separately said that a number of paramilitary drones targeted early Saturday facilities in El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.

Army air defenses intercepted the drones on El-Obeid, located about 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) southwest of Khartoum, the spokesman said, adding that no casualties were reported.

The army did not specify which facilities were targeted.

The attacks come days after a wave of RSF drone strikes targeted key infrastructure and army installations in and around Khartoum, including a power station, an oil refinery, a weapons factory and an airbase.

The RSF's Tasis administration, which has declared itself the governing authority in paramilitary-held areas, later claimed responsibility, describing them as "precise and successful air strikes".

Following the army's recapture of the capital in March, the RSF has increasingly used drones to attack army-controlled areas, often targeting critical infrastructure and causing widespread power outages affecting millions.

Efforts to broker a ceasefire between warring parties have so far failed.

On Saturday, Sudan's army-aligned government pushed back against a new peace proposal from four foreign powers -- the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

The proposal called for a humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire and a transition toward civilian rule.

The four nations also suggested that no warring party should be included in the post-war transition -- a proposal swiftly rejected by the government.

Sudan's current state institutions remain under army control.

The conflict has effectively split the country, with the army holding the north, east and center, while the RSF dominates parts of the south and nearly all of the western Darfur region.



Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)

The Israeli military announced that one of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Gaza on Wednesday, but a security source said the death appeared to have been caused by "friendly fire".

"Staff Sergeant Ofri Yafe, aged 21, from HaYogev, a soldier in the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit, fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip," the military said in a statement.

A security source, however, told AFP that the soldier appeared to have been "killed by friendly fire", without providing further details.

"The incident is still under investigation," the source added.

The death brings to five the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since a ceasefire took effect on October 10.


Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
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Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said the process of merging the SDF with Syrian government forces “may take some time,” despite expressing confidence in the eventual success of the agreement.

His remarks came after earlier comments in which he acknowledged differences with Damascus over the concept of “decentralization.”

Speaking at a tribal conference in the northeastern city of Hasakah on Tuesday, Abdi said the issue of integration would not be resolved quickly, but stressed that the agreement remains on track.

He said the deal reached last month stipulates that three Syrian army brigades will be created out of the SDF.

Abdi added that all SDF military units have withdrawn to their barracks in an effort to preserve stability and continue implementing the announced integration agreement with the Syrian state.

He also emphasized the need for armed forces to withdraw from the vicinity of the city of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), to be replaced by security forces tasked with maintaining order.


Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would pursue a policy of "encouraging the migration" of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

"We will eliminate the idea of an Arab terror state," said Smotrich, speaking at an event organized by his Religious Zionism Party late on Tuesday.

"We will finally, formally, and in practical terms nullify the cursed Oslo Accords and embark on a path toward sovereignty, while encouraging emigration from both Gaza and Judea and Samaria.

"There is no other long-term solution," added Smotrich, who himself lives in a settlement in the West Bank.

Since last week, Israel has approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over the West Bank, including in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, in place since the 1990s.

The measures include a process to register land in the West Bank as "state property" and facilitate direct purchases of land by Jewish Israelis.

The measures have triggered widespread international outrage.

On Tuesday, the UN missions of 85 countries condemned the measures, which critics say amount to de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory.

"We strongly condemn unilateral Israeli decisions and measures aimed at expanding Israel's unlawful presence in the West Bank," they said in a statement.

"Such decisions are contrary to Israel's obligations under international law and must be immediately reversed.

"We underline in this regard our strong opposition to any form of annexation."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on Israel to reverse its land registration policy, calling it "destabilizing" and "unlawful".

The West Bank would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state. Many on Israel's religious right view it as Israeli land.

Israeli NGOs have also raised the alarm over a settlement plan signed by the government which they say would mark the first expansion of Jerusalem's borders into the occupied West Bank since 1967.

The planned development, announced by Israel's Ministry of Construction and Housing, is formally a westward expansion of the Geva Binyamin, or Adam, settlement situated northeast of Jerusalem in the West Bank.

The current Israeli government has fast-tracked settlement expansion, approving a record 52 settlements in 2025.

Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.