Sudan’s government denied army involvement in a drone strike that killed more than 150 people at a market in the disputed Abyei region bordering South Sudan, according to local reports, as drone warfare intensified across Darfur and Kordofan.
The army, meanwhile, said it had recaptured military positions in Blue Nile state near the Ethiopian border and shot down a drone that crossed into Sudan from Ethiopia.
In a statement issued late Thursday, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry expressed deep regret over the civilian deaths, categorically denying “any connection between the Sudanese Armed Forces and this unfortunate incident.”
The ministry said the attack bore similarities to atrocities blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), citing a December 2025 strike on a United Nations peacekeeping headquarters in Kadugli, South Kordofan, that killed peacekeepers, as well as attacks on humanitarian aid convoys.
The denial followed the army’s publication of images on Facebook in recent days indicating it had struck RSF command centers in the area.
An army officer also told the Associated Press that the strikes targeted fuel trucks heading to the RSF, denying that civilians had been targeted. The army leadership has made no official admission of responsibility.
South Sudan’s Foreign Ministry summoned Sudan’s ambassador in Juba to protest the attack, amid growing fears that the war’s fallout could spill across the border.
UN, African Union Condemn Strikes
Oil-rich Abyei remains a flashpoint between Sudan and South Sudan, with sovereignty over the territory disputed since South Sudan’s independence in 2011. A UN peacekeeping force is deployed in the area.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned Monday’s drone attacks on Abyei, which killed dozens of civilians, including women and children, urging Khartoum and Juba to prevent further strikes and uphold the region’s demilitarized status.
African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf also condemned the attacks, citing local and medical reports of more than 150 deaths.
He urged the warring sides to avoid actions that could inflame the conflict or threaten neighboring countries and reaffirmed support for mediation efforts to secure an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
Elsewhere, the RSF-led parallel government, known as Tasis, accused the Sudanese army of striking a hospital in El Daein, the capital of East Darfur, with a drone on Thursday, killing three people and wounding dozens, according to its account.
In a statement Friday, Tasis said further airstrikes hit the government secretariat in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, where the RSF runs its administration of territories under its control.
Pro-army social media platforms reported heavy airstrikes on RSF positions in Nyala, El Daein, El Fasher and parts of West Kordofan.
Local reports said the strikes hit fuel depots and military vehicles in the oil-producing Abu Jabra area of East Darfur, as well as positions in Babanusa, West Kordofan.
A military source cited in the reports said the raids aimed to cripple RSF logistics ahead of possible ground operations.
Army Reports Gains in Blue Nile
On another front, Sudan’s army said Thursday evening it had retaken Bakori and Aklili in southeastern Blue Nile state near the Ethiopian border after clashes with an alliance of the RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu.
The army’s 4th Infantry Division, based in Damazin, said on Facebook that its troops had “liberated” both areas, inflicting heavy losses on opposing forces.
Bakori holds strategic military importance as the site of a 13th Brigade base along a route to Damazin, the state capital. RSF-allied forces had seized the area in August.
The army also said it had downed a drone it described as “strategic” over Bakori, claiming it had tracked the aircraft from the moment it crossed the Ethiopian border. It said the drone targeted fuel trucks believed to be heading to the RSF.
Sudan has accused Ethiopia of allowing the RSF to use its territory to launch drone strikes and ground operations inside Sudan, allegations Addis Ababa denies.
