Residents reported hearing anti-aircraft fire and air defense missiles launched in response to the unmanned aircraft. The SAF did not immediately issue a formal statement, but military-aligned sources said air defenses "successfully engaged” the drone over the city’s perimeter.

Earlier Friday, SAF fighter jets conducted a series of airstrikes targeting RSF supply lines in West Kordofan, according to field officials familiar with the operations. Additional drone and jet strikes were reported in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, and in Zalingei, Central Darfur, where witnesses described explosions near RSF-held positions. Independent verification of battlefield damage remains limited due to restricted access.

Military analysts at Diplomat News Network (diplomat.so) say the increasing reliance on drones by both sides reflects a strategic shift toward remote warfare as frontlines fluctuate. "The intensification of drone deployments indicates attempts to disrupt logistics and command infrastructure rather than direct urban assaults,” one regional security analyst said on condition of attribution to the outlet.

The United Nations reports that more than 100,000 people have been displaced from Kordofan in the past three months alone amid escalating clashes. Humanitarian agencies warn that access constraints and insecurity are worsening food and medical shortages.

Fighting in Kordofan intensified after RSF forces consolidated control over much of neighboring Darfur in late October, altering the conflict’s geographic balance. As Sudan’s war approaches its third year, the widening use of aerial assets signals a protracted and increasingly technologically driven confrontation.