Drones strike Sudan’s Blue Nile capital Al-Damazin amid escalating RSF offensive

Early on the day of the attack, locals described being awakened by loud explosions and watching a drone strike near Al-Damazin’s airport, causing a massive blast. The Sudanese army responded with anti-aircraft missiles, and the Blue Nile state authorities said they had repelled “the enemy’s attempts to target Al-Damazin with drones” and that the situation was under control. Al-Damazin, which had remained comparatively secure, is now threatened by a recent RSF offensive advancing from less than 100 km south of the town along the Ethiopian border.

The wider war, which began in April 2023, has killed more than 200,000 people and created the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises; nearly 100,000 residents have been displaced in Blue Nile this year, many seeking refuge in Al-Damazin. Sudan accuses the RSF of launching attacks from Ethiopian territory, a claim Ethiopia denies despite reports of porous borders supplying the paramilitaries. The RSF and its ally SPLM-N, led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, now control southern Blue Nile, adding strategic pressure on the army on multiple fronts.