NYALA – Sudanese army airstrikes targeted Rapid Support Forces (RSF) positions in Nyala and parts of North Kordofan on Friday, as local sources reported the killing of an RSF-affiliated media figure in a separate drone strike west of El Obeid.

Residents and local sources said heavy airstrikes hit RSF positions and movements in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, amid an intensification of aerial operations against the paramilitary force. There was no independently confirmed information on casualties or the extent of the damage.

Nyala has served as one of the RSF’s main strongholds in Darfur since the group consolidated control over much of the region during Sudan’s war, making the city and its surrounding military infrastructure recurring targets of army aerial operations.

Sources said recent strikes targeted military positions, a training camp and areas around Nyala airport. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have increasingly relied on drones and long-range air operations to strike RSF bases, movements and supply networks beyond front-line areas.

In North Kordofan, Bashara Sharaf Al-Din Al-Nahli, a media figure affiliated with the RSF in the Kordofan region, was reported killed in an army drone strike in the Umm Sumayma area west of El Obeid.

Mohamed Didan, spokesman for the Special Task Forces in West Kordofan, said Al-Nahli was killed in the attack. Local sources said members of his security detail were also killed, although the total number of casualties could not be independently verified.

Umm Sumayma lies along a contested corridor west of El Obeid, where fighting has intensified as the army and RSF compete for control of routes linking North and West Kordofan with Darfur.

Al-Nahli had appeared in media coverage linked to RSF military operations in Kordofan and Darfur, including around Al Fashir and Babanusa. Local sources also accused him of involvement in inflammatory media campaigns, allegations that could not be independently verified.

The RSF had not publicly commented on his reported death.

Sources said army aerial operations had also targeted RSF movements and supply routes connecting the Al Fashir road with Al Nahud, Al Khuwei and Umm Sumayma.

They said the military had tracked supplies intended for RSF forces, including a group led by a commander known as “Cobra,” which had reportedly left the area two days earlier. The nature of the supplies and details of the operation could not be independently confirmed.

It was not immediately clear whether the operations in Kordofan were directly coordinated with the airstrikes on Nyala, but the attacks appear to form part of a broader increase in army aerial operations against RSF positions and logistics networks.

Drone warfare has become increasingly prominent in Sudan’s conflict, which began in April 2023 between the SAF and RSF. Both sides have expanded their use of unmanned aircraft for surveillance and strikes as fighting has spread across Darfur, Kordofan and central Sudan.

Defence reporting has also pointed to the Sudanese military’s use of Turkish-made Bayraktar Akıncı drones alongside other unmanned aircraft, significantly extending the range of its aerial operations.

No independently verified assessment of losses from Friday’s strikes in Nyala and North Kordofan was immediately available.