A series of drone attacks struck near Khartoum International Airport early Tuesday, just one day before the Sudanese government was set to reopen the facility for domestic flights for the first time in more than two years, witnesses said.
The airport, one of Sudan’s most vital transport hubs, has been closed since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict devastated infrastructure across the capital, leaving much of Khartoum in ruins.
Residents reported hearing drones and explosions between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. local time (2 a.m. to 4 a.m. GMT). “I heard the sound of an explosion and then a drone passed overhead,” said a witness in the Al-Azhari neighbourhood in southern Khartoum. Another resident in the city centre said he was woken by the sound of drones before hearing “loud explosions in the direction of the airport.”
The attacks came just hours after Sudan’s Civil Aviation Authority announced that the airport would reopen on Wednesday for limited domestic operations following months of technical and operational restoration.
Witnesses also reported explosions in northern Omdurman, part of the greater Khartoum metropolitan area that houses some of Sudan’s largest military installations. One resident said they saw three drones flying toward the Wadi Sayedna military base before hearing a series of blasts.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and authorities have yet to confirm casualties or damage. However, the RSF has repeatedly been accused of launching drone strikes against both military and civilian targets since losing control of Khartoum earlier this year.
Tuesday’s incident marks the third drone attack on the capital in a week. In recent days, drones targeted army bases in Khartoum’s northwest, though military officials said most were intercepted.
The army’s successful counteroffensive earlier this year allowed the government to reclaim the capital, prompting more than 800,000 displaced residents to return. Officials have since relocated from their temporary base in Port Sudan and launched reconstruction efforts, though much of the city still faces power cuts and destruction linked to earlier RSF attacks.
While Khartoum remains tense but relatively stable, the fiercest fighting has shifted westward. In Darfur, RSF forces continue to besiege El-Fasher, the last major city in the region still under army control.
The United Nations warned Monday of intensifying violence across North and West Darfur, citing drone strikes and ground battles. The broader conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced nearly 12 million people, and created what aid agencies call the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis.
