بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Question:
Recent days have witnessed a remarkable development in the war. Drones attacked Port Sudan, the administrative capital, for six consecutive days, striking the civilian airport, an airbase, and fuel depots, causing a nationwide fuel crisis. Drones also attacked the city of Kassala on the Eritrean border to the east, as well as other cities. All of this prompted army forces moving toward El Fasher to withdraw and focus on protecting eastern Sudan, as the BBC reported on 10/5/2025. Does this mean that the attack on eastern Sudan is aimed at removing the army from Darfur, leaving it exclusively under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)? Are these events a prelude to the Jeddah Platform (negotiation conference)? Or are there other objectives? Thank you.
Answer:
To uncover the motives behind the drone attacks on vital targets in eastern Sudan, we clarify the following:
First: The developments that preceded the powerful attacks on eastern Sudan, especially on Port Sudan:
1- The Sudanese army achieved major successes by expelling the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)from the important central cities of Khartoum, Bahri, and Omdurman. This major victory boosted the morale of the Sudanese army, which began preparing to pursue the Rapid Support Forces in Darfur. This increased the army’s morale to pursue the RSF which is considered normal after these successes. This trend forces leaders to adapt to the new reality under popular pressure and pressure from low-ranking army officers, i.e., those who are not familiar with external dynamics:
“The Chairman of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, affirmed on Thursday the army's determination to liberate the country from "mercenaries and agents and eliminate the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)." (Anadolu Agency, 13/3/2025). This statement was intended to adapt to the new reality, and given the significant impact this reality has had on the people and within the army, army sectors have begun to clash with the RSF in some areas of Darfur. Army forces have valiantly defended their positions. The city of El Fasher is the only one of the five Darfur capitals that remains under army control. The Sudanese army began to rush towards Darfur.
“The latest developments on the ground indicate the advance of massive army and joint force units from the northern city of Ad-Dabba to lift the siege on El Fasher, while other forces affiliated with the same factions rushed to Kordofan states and achieved significant victories on their way to the city from another axis.” (Al-Quds Al-Arabi, 19/4/2025). This trend, which the people are pushing for after Khartoum's victories and has a strong resonance within the army, is not the American approach. Therefore, Al-Burhan tried to limit this trend. (Al-Burhan warned against the misinformation campaigns promoting the idea that the war targets specific ethnicities, stressing that "our war is against the person who bears arms against the state, not against any tribe," considering that these rumors aim to "mobilize people and drag them into killing." He explained that "the rebellion of a tribal leader does not mean the rebellion of the entire tribe," (RT, 29/4/2025). It was as if he wanted to stop the army's rush towards Darfur, given that some tribes there believe the army is against them, as if he was asking for a delay.
2- After the bitter defeats suffered by the RSF in the central region and the loss of their major positions in Khartoum, Bahri and Omdurman, as well as the loss of many of their fighters and field commanders, they were cloaked in defeat and weakness. They then headed towards their stronghold in Darfur, most of which they controlled, and laid siege to the city of El Fasher. This assembly of the Rapid Support Forces was in accordance with American directives towards Sudan. It is only natural, given the circumstances, that some of RSF would disperse and face difficulty in recruiting from loyal tribes, given that they were fighting losing battles against a strong opponent, the Sudanese army. This means that the morale of the RSF was low. Therefore, the army forces inside El Fasher were sufficient to repel their repeated attacks, meaning that their attack on El Fasher lacked momentum. Therefore, a major effort was necessary to restore morale to Hemedti's forces and demonstrate their superiority and strength, and their ability to strike and threaten remote areas that were safe for the Sudanese army, such as eastern Sudan.
3- Despite their rulers' allegiance to the British, the United Arab Emirates has continued to support America's agent and commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), in the hope of gaining influence over him and his followers. This action is similar to what it is doing in Libya by supporting America's agent, Haftar. Sudan has repeatedly expressed its disapproval with the UAE and accused it of providing significant military aid to the RSF. In response to these accusations, the UAE closed its embassy in Sudan and did not move it to Port Sudan, as other countries have done after the outbreak of war in Khartoum in April 2023. However, Sudan continued to maintain its embassy and consulate in the UAE. In light of this anger and its exacerbation, Sudan filed a lawsuit against the UAE with the International Court of Justice, accusing it of participating in the genocide carried out by the RSF in Sudan. However, the court rejected this Sudanese request:
“The court on Monday said it could not judge the case against the UAE, rejected Sudan's request for emergency measures and ordered the case be removed from its docket.” (Reuters, 6/5/2025). Sudan then took another harsh action against the UAE, severing diplomatic relations with the UAE and withdrawing the Sudanese embassy and consulate. Then, events related to the UAE continued. “The Sudanese army announced on Sunday the destruction of an Emirati cargo plane carrying military supplies to the Rapid Support Forces… It stated that the plane was carrying military supplies, including suicide drones and strategic drones.” (Sudan Tribune, 4/5/2025).
Second: Motives for these developments and their consequences:
1- With the escalation of clashes in Khartoum since 2023, the Sovereignty Council was forced to temporarily relocate the capital to Port Sudan, considering it the safest area. Foreign diplomatic missions, international relief organizations, and many residents who fled the central region for safety relocated with the Sovereignty Council members, becoming refugees. This region represents Sudan’s lifeline during the war — as it houses the port that brings in goods from abroad and the country’s only operational international airport, with Khartoum’s airport still closed despite being under army control. As both a vital artery for survival and the seat of the interim government, the continuous drone strikes over several days came as a profound shock to both the Sudanese public and the military. These attacks show that the RSF are not a force that has been broken, as some have thought, but rather possess greater capabilities than they have previously demonstrated. They also demonstrate that the army should not be scattered in the deserts of Darfur, but rather should fortify and protect these vital facilities, such as the port, airport, and fuel depots. Moreover, the severe fires that broke out in the fuel depots suggest to the army that its logistical services, necessary for the war in Darfur, have been damaged, so it must take its time and repair them before rushing into Darfur.
2- The strikes on Port Sudan facilities, Kassala Airport, and Flamingo Naval base were carried out by heavy Chinese drones, according to analyses from several sources, including the BBC, dated 10/5/2025. One drone can carry 40 kg, while another can carry 200 kg of explosives and guided missiles. The RSF have never used such drones before. Similar drones have been spotted at Nyala Airport, which is controlled by the Rapid Support Forces. This is the same airport where the army said it destroyed the Emirati cargo plane.
3- The UAE was among the first countries in the region to acquire Chinese drones years ago. On 2/5/2019, Defense News reported that the UAE used these drones to support Khalifa Haftar in his attacks on Tripoli, Libya. Times Aerospace reported that the UAE used these Chinese drones to strike jihadist sites in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2014. This means that the UAE has been armed with various heavy types of Chinese drones for many years, and it is likely that they are behind these attacks in eastern Sudan, either directly from the sea or by supplying them to the RSF. They are outraged by Burhan government’s defamation of them in the International Court, the severing of relations with them, and the destruction of their cargo plane.
4- The focus of the strikes was on airports, the port, and the Flamingo naval base. Fires often broke out, taking days to control, indicating that oil depots were being targeted. The Sudanese Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Muhieddin Mohamed Naeem, revealed that five major oil storage depots were burned as a result of drone strikes on the first day of the campaign (Voice of Sudan, 6/5/2025). Due to the continued targeting of energy facilities, the same minister issued directives to shut down the pipeline carrying South Sudan’s oil due to the drone bombing of the oil pumping station east of Atbara (Al Jazeera Net, 11/5/2025).
5- The targeting focused on fuel, to deprive the Sudanese army of it, which would prevent it from launching major operations in Darfur, especially in the city of El Fasher. This is in addition to showing the government in a weak position, as it is unable to secure its headquarters, as well as secure fuel and electricity for all of Sudan’s needs. “The Sudanese Electricity Company announced that “the Sudanese electricity station was damaged as a result of being targeted by drones and the power outage.”” (Anadolu Agency, 8/5/2025)
6- It is clear from all this that the major attacks in eastern Sudan, especially on the strategic facilities of the city of Port Sudan, are linked to the war in Darfur. They are aimed at forcing the army to move away from attacking El Fasher and head east to defend Port Sudan. The BBC reported on 10/5/2025, that the army forces moving towards El Fasher were forced by the attack on eastern Sudan to return and focus on protecting eastern Sudan.
Third: Conclusion of these Events
1- It is likely that, after these heavy strikes, the Sudanese army has begun to fear the new capabilities of the Rapid Support Forces and is losing access to the fuel needed to operate its vehicles in the war it planned for El Fasher and Darfur in general. This is in addition to the need to fortify eastern Sudan for fear of further waves of attacks, thereby reducing the army's pressure on Darfur and its preoccupation with the eastern front.
2- Regarding the RSF, its forces will gain momentum and be in a better morale to achieve results in El Fasher, all with support from the UAE and the provision of heavy Chinese drones.
3- It is expected that the attacks on El Fasher will intensify and that the army sectors that were on their way to support El Fasher will retreat, and that the Sovereignty Council will take time to repair this devastation in eastern Sudan. It is unlikely that the Jeddah negotiations will start again before the RSF take control of El Fasher, or have weight in it, which is important in Darfur. Then America will create a balance of power and control between the two Sudanese forces (the army and the Rapid Support Forces), so that if the Jeddah negotiations are resumed, the RSF will have thrown off the cloak of defeat and will stand confident in their strength and the stability of their control and have established a de facto government in Darfur, that is, creating the appropriate conditions for the division to mature and become a reality that must be accepted
Fourth: It is painful that the kaffir colonial America can manage a fight that reaps lives in Sudan and harness its agents to implement it openly, not secretly, and publicly, not hidden. Burhan and Hemedti are fighting with the blood of the people of Sudan for no reason other than to serve America’s interests, as it wants to repeat the division of Sudan as it did in separating the south from Sudan. It is now doing its utmost to separate Darfur from what remains of Sudan. Therefore, the army focuses its attention on the rest of Sudan’s regions, and the RSF focus their attention on Darfur. If the sincere in the army become active in regaining control of Darfur, the RSF will move the battle to other regions in Sudan to distract the army, so its forces withdraw from Darfur to eastern Sudan, in which the RSF are intensifying their attacks with drones. This is to enable the RSF to take complete control of Darfur!
In conclusion, we call upon you in the same manner as we called upon you in our previous response dated 19/12/2023:
O our People in the Sudan of the Great Islam... The Sudan of Dongola Mosque, the first mosque built by the first Muslims in Sudan... The Sudan of the great Islamic conquest during the era of Caliph Othman, may Allah be pleased with him, where he ordered the governor of Egypt to bring the light of Islam to Sudan, so he sent the soldiers of Islam led by Abdullah Ibn Abi Al-Sarh, and the opening took place in the year 31 AH. And so, Islam spread rapidly, with Allah’s favour, until it filled all of Sudan: from its north to its south and from its east to its west... Then it continued during the era of the Muslim caliphs.
O our people in Sudan, who fought against the British from 1896 until mid-World War I in 1916, when the pious and strong hero, Ali bin Dinar, the Wali (governor) of Darfur, was martyred. That scholar and fighter was credited with repairing the Miqat of Medina and the people of Ash-Sham, Dhu al-Hulaifah, and constructing wells for watering pilgrims, which are still named after him today, Abyar Ali.
O our people in Sudan, we call upon you to rectify the situation before regret sets in, for there is no time for regret. Take control of the two warring parties and support them firmly on the right path. Support Hizb ut Tahrir in establishing the Khilafah Rashidah (Rightly-Guided Khilafah), for in it lies the glory of Islam and Muslims and the humiliation of kufr (disbelief) and disbelievers. And the pleasure of Allah is greater.
[إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ]
“Surely in this is a reminder for whoever has a ˹mindful˺ heart and lends an attentive ear” [Qaf: 37]