Sudanese army nets rebel drones targeting two cities
Sudan’s army intercepted drones fired by a rival paramilitary group at two cities in northeastern Sudan, a military official said.
The army official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 15 unmanned aerial vehicles targeted the city of Atbara in the Nile River province, north of the capital.
He confirmed that there was no loss of life in the attacks.
Local media reported that residents of the region heard an explosion.
The official added that ground defenses prevented a smaller-scale drone attack that also targeted the capital Khartoum’s sister city, Omdruman.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) drone strikes came a day after the group said it had accepted a humanitarian ceasefire proposed by the US-led mediator group known as the Quad.
A Sudanese military official told The Associated Press on Thursday that the military welcomed the Quartet’s proposal but would agree to a ceasefire only if the RSF fully withdraws from civilian areas and gives up weapons in line with previous peace proposals.
The war between the RSF and the army began in 2023, when tensions erupted between the two former allies who were supposed to oversee the democratic transition following the 2019 uprising.
At least 40,000 people have died and 12 million have been displaced in the conflict, according to the World Health Organization.
But aid groups say the real death toll could be many times higher.
More than 24 million people also face acute food insecurity, according to the World Food Programme.
Massad Boulos, the US adviser on African affairs, said earlier this week that the US-led ceasefire plan would begin with a three-month humanitarian ceasefire, followed by a nine-month political process.
Also on Friday, the UN’s top human rights body announced that it would hold an emergency special session on Sudan on November 14 due to recent bloodshed and other violence against civilians in and around the Darfur city of El-Fasher.
The call for a special session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva was led by Britain, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway and has so far received the support of two dozen council members in the 47-member country’s rights body.
RSF’s announcement that it had accepted the ceasefire came more than a week after the group captured the city of Al-Fasher, which had been under siege for more than 18 months.
It was also the last Sudanese military stronghold in Sudan’s western Darfur region.
More than 81,000 people have been displaced from Al-Fasher since October 26, as the need for shelter, food, water and medical care has increased, but aid distribution has been limited, UNICEF said in a report on Thursday.
The UN children’s agency said it had found that more than 850 children currently receiving treatment had acute malnutrition.
The report stated that violence, sexual assaults and looting of health facilities continue to be common in North Darfur, and the most vulnerable are women and children.
