The Government of Sudan has accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of launching a series of drone attacks, including a strike early Sunday targeting the Osman Digna Air Base in Port Sudan.

Describing the attack as a blatant insistence on destabilizing the country, the government alleged that the RSF deployed suicide drones in the assault, resulting in damage to several warehouses and civilian service facilities in the Red Sea city.

The Port Sudan Air Base, also known as Osman Digna Air Base, is a military airport operated by the Sudanese Armed Forces.

It is located in Port Sudan, along the Red Sea coast. The base has been used for military operations, logistics, and defense, especially during the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF.

A statement issued by the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday labelled the RSF as a “terrorist militia” and linked the latest escalation to a planned strategy of targeting Sudan’s critical infrastructure and civilian life.

The ministry said the incident comes just two days after a similar strike reportedly targeted facilities in the eastern city of Kassaia.

“This escalation by the rebel Janjaweed RSF militia and its regional sponsor reaffirms their determination to destroy infrastructure and service facilities essential for providing Sudanese citizens with a dignified life and well-being—a conduct condemned by international norms and laws”, the statement said.

Confirming the attack, media officer at the Embassy of Sudan in Nigeria, Almoiz Mohamed, told The Guardian that the recent attacks confirm beyond any doub that the war is not merely a rebellion by the Rapid Support Forces militia, but rather a full-fledged aggression orchestrated and supported by well-known regional powers.

“Providing this militia with advanced drones not only poses a threat to Sudanese national security, but also poses a grave danger to regional and international security, and requires urgent and serious action by the international community to address such violations”, he stated.

The ministry urged the international community to compel the terrorist militia to immediately cease the criminal acts targeting the Sudanese people, their stability, and the safety of their service facilities and infrastructure.

“Furthermore, pressure must be exerted on the regional state sponsoring the terrorist militia to immediately halt its provision of advanced weapons, funding, and criminal planning, which aim to perpetuate chaos and threaten regional and international peace and security, violating all internationally recognized norms and laws upheld by peace-loving nations,” the ministry added.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a brutal conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF.

The crisis, which has caused the death of more than 150,000 people, has led to more than 24.6 million people, about half the population, experiencing acute food insecurity, with 638,000 facing catastrophic hunger.