ISTANBUL

The Sudanese army said on Thursday that it repelled a drone attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on strategic locations, including an airport and a dam, in northern Sudan.

The army’s 19th Infantry Division said in a statement that its ground forces intercepted a number of suicide drones launched by the RSF on Thursday morning in an attempt to target the headquarters of the division, Merowe Airport, and the Merowe Dam in the Northern State.

Heavy explosions were heard in the vicinity of the airport and dam, witnesses told the local Sudan News. The extent of damage from the attack remains unclear.

There was no immediate comment from the RSF on the army statement.

Al-Rakoba News, citing local sources, said the attack also targeted the state capital Dongola and the city of Al-Dabba.

As one of the key strategic areas in northern Sudan, Merowe houses an airport used for both military and civilian purposes, as well as the Merowe Dam, one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects.

Following the RSF seizure of El-Fasher, the capital of the North Darfur State, the clashes between the rebel group and the Sudanese army spread to new fronts, particularly the central and southern Kordofan states.

Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF now holds all five in the Darfur region, except for a few northern areas of North Darfur still under army control. The Sudanese army continues to dominate most of the remaining 13 states across the south, north, east, and central regions, including the capital, Khartoum.

The bloody conflict between the army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others.