The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have launched a series of precision drone strikes on Islamist militia camps in Port Sudan, resulting in significant casualties and a rapid exodus of key movement leaders.
RSF strikes underscore the deepening international and regional dynamics shaping Sudan’s ongoing conflict.
Sources close to military operations have revealed that dozens of foreign experts, brought in by General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) to train Islamist militia forces on modern weaponry and advanced defense systems, were killed in these precise drone attacks.
The foreign trainers had been working to bolster the capabilities of these militias, further escalating the military landscape in Sudan.
The drone strikes targeted key locations, including the camps housing these foreign operatives and military infrastructure such as Port Sudan’s military airport and Digna base.
While SAF quickly attributed the attack to the RSF, some analysts are skeptical, suggesting the complexity and precision of the strikes may point to involvement from outside forces.
The strikes come amid increasing tensions in Sudan’s east, where Iranian weapons, including drones, are reportedly arriving, heightening suspicions that Israel may have been behind the attack to prevent the repositioning of Islamist forces in Sudan.
These strategic hits may be aimed at Iranian influence and military assets, including advanced weaponry flowing into the region.
As news of the attack spread, reports of a mass exodus from Port Sudan surfaced, with key leaders from the Islamist Movement (Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood) fleeing the area. This suggests fears of further strikes targeting high-level figures within the movement, as well as concerns about the strategic vulnerability of their position in Sudan’s volatile east.
The silence of SAF Chief General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, whose forces were also reportedly affected by the strikes, is raising alarm. His lack of response to the significant losses and his failure to address the situation publicly have prompted renewed questions about his political alignment and his tenuous relationship with the Islamist factions.
Al-Burhan has long been accused of maintaining ties with remnants of the ousted Islamic regime, and his silence amid these escalating airstrikes only adds to suspicions of complicity. The situation in Port Sudan, once a stronghold for transitional governance, is now a focal point of foreign military influence, further complicating Sudan’s internal conflict.
The drone attacks on Islamist camps in Port Sudan could signal the end of an era of covert protection for the Islamist Movement, which has been shielded by various political and military networks for years. With growing foreign intervention and a shift towards targeted military operations, Sudan is at a crossroads, facing both internal divisions and external pressures that will reshape its future.
The ongoing conflict, with rising casualties and drone attacks, suggests that Sudan is entering a new phase of security and political instability, one that will likely redefine its political landscape and its position within the region.
