US University: RSF Drones Pose Threat to Civilians and Infrastructure
Sudan Events – Agencies
A report by the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale School of Public Health in the United States has concluded that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have deployed suicide drones and launch platforms near Nyala Airport since May 2025, posing a direct threat to civilians and vital infrastructure in Sudan.
The report noted that RSF drone attacks carried out last week against Khartoum and Omdurman demonstrate their ability to rapidly relocate equipment to launch sites.
Satellite imagery analyzed by the lab detected 13 long-range drones and 16 launch platforms positioned around Nyala Airport, which remains under RSF control. The report stated that the drones—likely Iranian-made “Shahed-136” or Chinese variants such as the “Sunflower-200” and “ZT-180”—are capable of reaching across Sudan, including Port Sudan, nearly 1,600 kilometers away.
The report highlighted that the sightings coincided with a series of drone strikes attributed to the RSF against Port Sudan and Kassala between May 3 and 7, 2025. It added that these capabilities can be quickly redeployed, further raising the risks of their use in the ongoing conflict.
The report stressed that the RSF’s access to such technology reflects the continued flow of advanced weaponry from foreign sources, exacerbating security risks and undermining humanitarian aid access for those affected by the war.
Ongoing Clashes
Meanwhile, heavy clashes continued Tuesday between the Sudanese army and the RSF northeast of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, according to military sources who spoke to Al Jazeera.
The sources said both sides employed heavy and medium weaponry during fighting that has raged for a second consecutive day.
Al Jazeera’s sources reported that RSF forces shelled the Abshok displacement camp as well as the Abshok, Daraja Oula, Qubba, and Nasr neighborhoods in central El-Fasher with heavy artillery. The Saudi Hospital, in the city’s south, was also struck.
On Sunday, RSF drones targeted several towns in White Nile State in the south, including Kosti, the state’s largest city.
El-Fasher remains the last major city in Darfur outside RSF control. The group has sought to offset its loss of the capital, Khartoum, in late March.
Sudan has been gripped by war between the army and the RSF since April 2023, a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and displaced at least 13 million people. Large parts of the country face famine in what the United Nations has described as the world’s “worst humanitarian crisis.”
The UN announced recently that some 20,000 people fled from Sudan into Chad over the past two weeks to escape escalating violence in Darfur, expressing alarm at what it called the “deeply concerning” pace of mass displacement.
