The Sudanese army said Friday it intercepted drone strikes launched overnight by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on two cities in the country’s northeast.
A senior military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 15 drones targeted Atbara, a city north of the capital in River Nile province. The attacks caused no casualties, though residents reported hearing explosions. The official added that air defenses also downed drones aimed at Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum.
The RSF strikes came a day after the group announced its acceptance of a humanitarian truce proposed by a U.S.-led mediation group known as the Quad. However, a Sudanese military official told the Associated Press that the army would agree to a ceasefire only if the RSF withdrew from civilian areas and surrendered its weapons in line with previous peace plans.
Sudan’s civil war erupted in 2023 between the army and the RSF — once allies in overseeing the country’s democratic transition after the 2019 uprising. The conflict has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced around 12 million, according to U.N. agencies, with the actual toll believed to be far higher. The World Food Program estimates that more than 24 million Sudanese are suffering from acute food insecurity.
Under the U.S.-backed peace proposal, the truce would begin with a three-month humanitarian pause followed by a nine-month political process, said U.S. adviser for African affairs Massad Boulos earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Human Rights Council announced an emergency special session on Sudan, scheduled for November 14, to address rising violence and civilian casualties in and around the Darfur city of El-Fasher. The session was requested by Britain, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway, and has received support from 24 of the council’s 47 members so far.
The RSF’s truce announcement follows its recent capture of El-Fasher, the last army stronghold in Darfur after an 18-month siege. UNICEF reported that over 81,000 people have been displaced from the city since October 26, with urgent needs for food, water, and medical care. The agency said more than 850 children are being treated for acute malnutrition, while violence, sexual assaults, and looting of health facilities continue to threaten women and children across North Darfur.