Drones attack Sudan capital and north, witnesses say

Drones attacked Sudan's capital Khartoum and two northern cities at dawn on Wednesday, an AFP correspondent and witnesses reported, after months of relative calm in the capital.

An AFP correspondent in Khartoum reported a drone attack at 5 am, along with the sound of anti-aircraft missiles from the direction of the army's Wadi Seidna base north of Omdurman. Witnesses in Atbara and El-Damer, both under army control, reported hearing explosions and seeing drones in the sky.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. Responsibility for the attacks was not immediately established.

Sudan has been at war since April 2023 between the military, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The army recaptured Khartoum last year, leading to the return of 2.3 million people, and the city had seen months of relative calm despite earlier drone strikes.

Aid workers estimate that more than 200,000 people have been killed across Sudan. The United Nations has called the conflict a “war of atrocities” and says it has caused the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.

The RSF consolidated control over much of Darfur last year and has pushed in southern Kordofan and along the southeastern Ethiopian border. The army holds Sudan's centre, north and east, and last month pushed the RSF off a key highway leading to the capital. Daglo later said he would “unleash” his fighters, and his forces have since repeatedly threatened a large-scale retaliatory attack.