A drone attack has hit an area near the international airport in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, a day before it was set to resume domestic flights for the first time since the outbreak of war in 2023.
Residents of the city reported hearing explosions in several districts early on Tuesday morning. Social media images, which have yet to be verified, appear to show a series of blasts.
There is no information available regarding casualties or damage, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Just the day before, Sudan's Civil Aviation Authority announced the airport would reopen on Wednesday, marking a significant return to normalcy after the army's recapture of Khartoum from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and subsequent repairs to the heavily damaged airport.
This drone strike is the third attack in the capital within a week, with previous strikes targeting army bases in northwest Khartoum on consecutive days. Reports indicate that anti-aircraft defenses intercepted several drones around 04:00 local time, but specifics regarding damage remain unclear.
The international airport had been shut down shortly after fighting erupted between the army and the RSF in April 2023 when the paramilitary group took control of it. Before its closure, Port Sudan served as the only functioning international airport in the country; however, it too had faced aerial threats.
Khartoum has maintained a relatively calm atmosphere since the army regained control of the city in March, yet ongoing attacks persist, attributing blame to RSF for targeting civilian and military infrastructure remotely.
The conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced millions, originally stemming from power struggles between the army and RSF, and has since drawn in various Sudanese armed factions and foreign actors, pushing the country into what the United Nations has termed the worst humanitarian crisis globally.
