Dozens killed in RSF drone strike targeting Sudanese officials

At least 27 people were killed, and 73 others injured in a drone strike carried out by the Rapid Support Forces on the city of Singa in southeastern Sudan, according to a health official speaking to AFP on Monday.

Ibrahim al-Awad, the Health Minister of Sennar State, confirmed that the RSF attack targeted the headquarters of the 17th Division in the state capital during a meeting that included military, security, and government officials from Sennar, Blue Nile, White Nile, and al-Jazira states.

Military sources reported that the governor of White Nile State survived the strike, while his bodyguards and the state’s protocol director were killed. The meeting, attended by governors from White Nile, al-Jazira, and Blue Nile, appeared to be the primary target of the strike. Sources said the death toll had exceeded ten in this specific incident.

Singa, situated approximately 300 kilometers southeast of Khartoum, serves as a strategic link between army-controlled areas in eastern and central Sudan. The city had seen relative calm since the army retook major cities in late 2024.

Civilian casualties reported in South Kordofan drone strike
In a separate incident, five civilians were killed, and 13 were injured when an RSF drone targeted the Kartala market in the Six Mountains area of South Kordofan State. According to the Sudan Doctors Network, all victims were civilians present at the market during the strike.

In retaliation, the Sudanese army launched extensive airstrikes on Rapid Support Forces positions in several locations, including Abu Zabad in West Kordofan, Jabal Abu Sunun near El-Obeid, Yabus in Blue Nile State, and the tri-border area between Sudan, Libya, and Egypt.

The strikes reportedly destroyed several RSF military vehicles and resulted in casualties among their fighters. Military sources stated that the army’s operations were part of broader preparations for what is expected to be the largest campaign since the war began 33 months ago.

Military buildup signals larger operation in Kordofan, Darfur
According to military sources, the army is finalizing preparations for a large-scale offensive aimed at liberating Kordofan and Darfur, signaling an intensification of the ongoing Kordofan conflict.

Field sources reported that additional army strikes targeted RSF elements in the Jabal Abu Sunun area near El-Obeid. The response follows the RSF’s recent claim of seizing control of Jabal Abu Sunun, a strategically valuable area that allows for artillery strikes on El-Obeid.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese government has officially returned to the capital, Khartoum, for the first time since the outbreak of the 2023 conflict, Sudan’s Prime Minister, Kamel Idris, announced on Sunday.

In March 2025, Sudan’s Armed Forces launched a decisive push to reclaim Khartoum from the RSF, nearly two years after the capital fell early in the civil war. By March 21, army units had retaken the Republican Palace, a key symbolic and strategic site in central Khartoum.

By May 20, 2025, the Armed Forces officially declared Khartoum State fully liberated, announcing that RSF forces had been cleared from the entire state after more than two years of intense conflict.