Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, was jolted by overnight explosions and drone strikes on Friday — just a day after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced it had agreed to a humanitarian truce.
Residents reported being woken by the sound of drones and multiple blasts near a military base and power station, according to AFP. The Sudanese army, which controls Khartoum, has yet to release an official statement, but the military government has expressed skepticism over the RSF’s commitment to ceasefires, accusing the group of repeatedly violating past truces.
The civil war, raging since April 2023, has left at least 150,000 people dead and forced 12 million others to flee their homes. A UN-backed global hunger monitor recently confirmed famine conditions spreading across several conflict zones.
Explosions were also reported in Atbara, about 300km (186 miles) north of the capital. One resident told AFP that anti-aircraft units intercepted drones, but fires broke out after the strikes.
“Anti-aircraft defences shot them down, but I saw fires breaking out and heard explosions in the east of the city,” the witness said.
The attacks came shortly after the RSF said it would join a US-led ceasefire plan backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. The proposal — first tabled in September — calls for a three-month truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire and a transition to civilian rule.
However, Sudan’s ambassador to South Africa, Osman Abufatima Adam Mohammed, said it was “too early” for Khartoum to agree, arguing that the RSF had “never respected previous truces.”
“They use these truces to move into new areas and make advances against the government,” he said.
The ambassador also criticized the UAE’s role in the peace talks, reiterating accusations that Abu Dhabi has been supplying the RSF with weapons and foreign fighters — a claim the UAE has denied but which UN experts say appears credible.
The RSF’s latest truce announcement came after the group captured el-Fasher, a strategic city in Darfur, following an 18-month siege that blocked humanitarian aid and caused widespread starvation.
Analysts say the RSF’s control over el-Fasher gives it stronger leverage in future negotiations — but the group is also under growing international scrutiny over alleged mass killings and sexual violence during the city’s fall, which it denies.