The Sudanese Armed Forces on Friday announced that it had successfully defended Port Sudan from a sixth consecutive day of drone assaults launched by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as the war between the two rivals escalates.
The military reported that its anti-aircraft units responded swiftly to unmanned aerial vehicles flying over key sites in central and northern Port Sudan, including the vital Flamingo naval base and areas surrounding Sudan’s primary Red Sea port.
According to eyewitness accounts and local reports, the RSF had earlier in the week launched a wave of drone strikes between Sunday and Wednesday, targeting infrastructure such as the Osman Digna airbase near the city’s international airport. The attacks damaged oil storage facilities and private warehouses, while also striking strategic military positions.
However, the army claims that since Thursday, its forces have intercepted multiple “suicide” drones, particularly those directed at the Flamingo base and the air college located within the compound.
On Thursday night, drone activity was also reported near the Kenana airbase, south of Rabak in White Nile State. Military officials said air defenses were activated in response.
Earlier that same day, a drone strike reportedly hit fuel depots in Kosti, sparking major fires and sending smoke plumes across the city. Additional RSF strikes are said to have targeted the army’s 18th Division and surrounding military positions in Tendelti, leading to both military and civilian casualties, though official figures remain undisclosed.
Military sources indicate that the RSF has escalated its drone campaign this week, focusing on strategic infrastructure such as fuel supplies, airports, and airbases across eastern Sudan, including in Kassala and Kenana.
As Port Sudan remains the army’s stronghold and temporary administrative capital, the continued drone assaults mark a troubling escalation in the RSF’s aerial capabilities, raising fears of further destabilization in Sudan’s eastern corridor.