Khartoum Airport Attacked By Drones A Day Before Reopening Since The Civil War Broke Out

Runway at Khartoum International Airport. (Wikimedia Commons/UR-SDV)

JAKARTA - Khartoum International Airport in Khartoum, Sudan was attacked by drones on Tuesday morning, a day before it was scheduled to reopen for the first time since civil war erupted in Sudan more than two and a half years ago.

The attack came a day after the Sudanese Civil Aviation Authority said the airport would reopen on Wednesday, with domestic flights restarting in stages after technical and operational preparations were completed.

Witnesses in the capital's territory said they heard an explosion from around the airport shortly after seeing drones flying low over the city towards it, quoted from The National Oct. 21.

There were no direct reports of casualties or damage caused by the attack.

Other locations in the capital area were also attacked, residents reported, including electrical transformers in Omdurman and areas around oil refineries in northern Khartoum.

Omdurman is one of three cities that formed the Sudanese capital, along with Khartoum and Bahri. However, the wider capital area is generally known as Khartoum.

There has been no direct statement from the military-backed government or Rapid Support Forces (RSF) regarding the attack that began before dawn.

In May, RSF launched a wave of drone attacks on a military air base that is part of an international airport in the city of Port Sudan in the Red Sea, which is the center of military-backed interim government.

They also attack fuel depots there as well as infrastructure locations in the north and south of the capital.

The airport was quickly seized by the RSF in the early days of the war. The paramilitary then moved to capture most of the sprawling capital, territory retook by the army and allied militias in March this year.

Khartoum has been relatively calm since it was reclaimed by its army and militia allies, but drone attacks are still being launched, with RSF repeatedly accused of attacking military and civilian locations.

Tuesday's attack was the third attack on the capital this month. Last week, unmanned aircraft (drone) attacked Khartoum for two consecutive days, hitting a military base in the northwest of the city. A military official said most of the drones were intercepted.