More than 20 civilians were killed in clashes in Sudan’s Blue Nile state, while the army confronted another drone attack on Omdurman on Thursday as fighting intensified across several parts of the country.
The United Nations humanitarian office in Sudan said local sources had reported more than 20 civilian deaths and additional injuries after fighting in Qeisan, a town in Blue Nile state near the Ethiopian border, on Tuesday. The violence also displaced about 2,500 people from the town, according to the UN assessment provided in the material reviewed for this report.
The fighting came after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said on Tuesday that it had captured Geissan. Local authorities, however, said the Sudanese army had fought back against an attack involving the RSF and the allied Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North. Reuters reported that neither the army nor the RSF had independently confirmed the other side's account of control of the town.
The violence in Blue Nile coincided with a renewed wave of drone attacks in central and northern Sudan.
In Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum, army air defences confronted drones for a second consecutive day, according to witnesses cited in the supplied report. There were no immediate confirmed figures for casualties or damage from Thursday's attack, and no party had publicly claimed responsibility.
Drone attacks were also reported on Wednesday in Khartoum, Atbara and al-Obeid. Reuters reported that eight drones targeted al-Obeid, prompting army air defences to respond. Two people were killed and others injured, according to medical sources cited by Reuters.
In Khartoum North, a drone struck a mosque courtyard, according to residents and footage reviewed by Reuters. The army and RSF did not immediately claim responsibility, and the origin of the drones could not be independently established.
The attacks marked the first reported drone activity in Khartoum and Atbara since May, according to Reuters, after a period of relative calm in the capital following the army's recapture of Khartoum in March 2025.
The RSF has been under military pressure in recent months, particularly in Kordofan and parts of Blue Nile state. Reuters reported that the army had made gains in several areas while the RSF retained control of much of Darfur and continued trying to consolidate its position there.
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF began in April 2023 after a dispute over the integration of the paramilitary force into the regular military. Fighting has since spread across the country, creating a major humanitarian crisis and forcing millions of people from their homes.
The latest violence has brought the conflict closer to areas where civilian life had begun to recover, while fighting and displacement continue in Blue Nile and Kordofan.