Drone attacks continued across Sudan on Thursday for a second consecutive day, targeting Khartoum and several other cities as fighting intensified in Kordofan and Blue Nile regions.

According to military sources and eyewitnesses, attacks targeted Khartoum, El Obeid, Kadugli, Atbara and Al-Damar, while army air defenses and ground-based systems engaged the drones. A military source told Xinhua that more than 35 drones, attributed to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), were shot down on Wednesday over areas including Atbara, Al-Damar and El Obeid. On Thursday, 10 drones were downed in Omdurman, three in River Nile State and five in South Kordofan State.

Eyewitnesses reported explosions and smoke as air defenses confronted drone attacks in Omdurman, El Obeid and Kadugli. The strikes on Atbara and Al-Damar, relatively far from the front lines, highlighted the expanding geographical scope of drone warfare.

The escalation came amid heavy fighting in North Kordofan and Blue Nile. In North Kordofan, Sudan's armed forces said they had repelled an RSF attack involving more than 250 combat vehicles in Jabrat Al-Sheikh, inflicting losses and forcing the attackers to withdraw toward Darfur.

In Blue Nile, fighting continued in Geisan after an attack by the RSF and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, according to local authorities. The International Organization for Migration said around 2,500 people were displaced, with some crossing into Ethiopia.

Sudan has been embroiled in fighting between the army and the RSF since April 2023, leaving tens of thousands dead and millions displaced.