A drone strike hit an area near Sudan’s main international airport in Khartoum early Tuesday, witnesses said, just a day before the army-backed government was set to reopen the facility for domestic flights for the first time in more than two years.
The airport has been shut since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), leaving vital infrastructure across the capital heavily damaged.
The airport has remained closed since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), leaving much of the capital’s infrastructure in ruins.
Witnesses told AFP they heard drones over central and southern Khartoum, followed by multiple explosions near the airport between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. local time (0200–0400 GMT).
One resident in the Al-Azhari neighborhood said he heard “the sound of an explosion and then a drone passed overhead,” while another in central Khartoum said he woke “to the sound of drones in the sky” before hearing blasts near the airport.
