The Sudanese government denied any connection between the army and the drone attack that targeted the “ostriches” market in the disputed Abyei region with South Sudan, and resulted in the killing of more than 150 people, according to local reports, at a time when the drone war escalated in Darfur and Kordofan, and the army announced the recovery of military sites in the Blue Nile region near the Ethiopian border, and shot down a drone that it said had crossed from Ethiopian territory.
The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement issued on Thursday-Friday night, expressed its deep regret over the civilian casualties, stressing “categorically that there is no connection between the Sudanese Armed Forces and this unfortunate incident.” The ministry said that the attack is similar to the crimes that the Rapid Support Forces are accused of committing, pointing to the bombing of the headquarters of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Kadugli, South Kordofan, in December 2025, which killed peacekeepers, in addition to targeting humanitarian aid convoys.
The Sudanese denial came after pictures published by the army on its Facebook site in recent days, indicating that it targeted the command centers of the Rapid Support Forces in the region, in addition to an officer speaking to the Associated Press, who said that the bombing targeted fuel trucks that were heading to the Rapid Support Forces, and denied targeting civilians. There was no official acknowledgment from the army leadership of its responsibility for the attack.
The South Sudan Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Sudanese ambassador in Juba in protest against the attack, amid fears that the repercussions of the war would spread to its territory.
Abyei, which is rich in oil, is located between Sudan and South Sudan, and its affiliation has remained a subject of dispute between the two countries since the secession of the south in 2011, while a United Nations peacekeeping force is deployed there.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, strongly condemned the drone attacks that targeted Abyei last Monday, killing dozens of civilians, including women and children, calling on Khartoum to prevent their recurrence and maintain the demilitarized situation in the region.
In turn, the Chairman of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssef, condemned the attacks, referring to local and medical reports that spoke of more than 150 deaths. He urged the warring parties to refrain from actions that exacerbate the conflict or threaten neighboring countries, stressing support for mediation efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire for humanitarian reasons.
On the other hand, the parallel “establishment” government, led by the “Rapid Support Forces,” accused the Sudanese army of launching a march attack, on Thursday, on a hospital in the city of El Daein, the capital of East Darfur, which, according to its account, resulted in the killing of three people and the injury of dozens. She said, in a statement on Friday, that other raids targeted the headquarters of the government secretariat in the city of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, which the “Rapid Support” uses as the headquarters for managing the areas under its control.
Platforms loyal to the army circulated reports of intensive raids targeting “Rapid Support” sites in Nyala, El Daein, El Fasher, and areas in Western Kordofan. Local reports reported that the strikes targeted fuel depots and military vehicles in the Abu Jabra oil region in East Darfur, and sites in Babanusa in West Kordofan. It quoted a military source as saying that the raids aimed to weaken the “Rapid Support” logistical capabilities in preparation for possible ground operations.
In a separate field development, the Sudanese army announced, on Thursday evening, the recovery of the Bakuri and Aklili regions in the Blue Nile region, southeast of the country, near the Ethiopian border, after battles with the “Rapid Support” coalition and the “Sudan People’s Liberation Movement - North,” led by Abdel Aziz Al-Hilu.
The leadership of the 4th Infantry Division, based in Damazin, said in a statement on Facebook that its forces were able to “liberate the areas of Bakuri and Aklili,” and inflicted heavy losses on the opposing forces.
Bakouri gains military importance because it hosts a base belonging to the Thirteenth Brigade, on one of the axes leading to Damazin, the capital of the region. The forces allied with the Rapid Support Forces took control of it last August.
In the same context, the army announced the downing of a drone that it described as “strategic” in the Bakuri area, stressing that “the drone was monitored from the moment it crossed the border, coming from the direction of Ethiopia, targeting fuel trucks believed to be heading to (Rapid Support).” The Sudanese government accuses Ethiopia of allowing the Rapid Support Forces to use its territory as a platform to launch drone attacks and carry out ground operations inside Sudan, accusations that Addis Ababa denies.
