By Nafisa Eltahir
(Reuters) -More than a dozen long-range kamikaze drones seen near an airport controlled by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces during a major air assault on army territory in May indicate the paramilitaries have new weapons that could alter the course of the war.
The conflict between the RSF and Sudan’s army has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis over the past two-and-a-half years, drawing in myriad foreign interests, and threatening to fragment the strategic Red Sea country, a major gold producer.
Images and analyses shared by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab and verified by Reuters showed 13 “delta-wing” drones alongside launching gear near Nyala airport in Sudan’s western Darfur region on May 6 this year.
Such drones, which are designed to crash into their targets, typically have a range of about 2,000 km (1,200 miles), a range that would reach anywhere in Sudan and far further than any other models the RSF was previously known to possess.
Yale assessed it was one of two possible Chinese models. Two experts contacted by Reuters said they could not confirm the manufacturer but agreed on the likely range. Similar models are also produced by companies in Russia and Iran.
China’s defence ministry and foreign ministry did not immediately reply to Reuters requests for comment.
The appearance of the drones and 16 launch platforms near the Nyala airport overlapped with a barrage of drone attacks on Port Sudan, which took place between May 3 and May 9. The researchers said the drones were gone by May 9 while the platforms remained visible until early September.
At the time, some analysts speculated that the attack on the army’s wartime capital around 1,600 km from Nyala may have been launched from areas to the east of Sudan as the RSF was not known to have such capabilities.
Sudan accused the United Arab Emirates of carrying out the attacks using warplanes and kamikaze drones launched from an Emirati base on the Red Sea. The UAE denied the allegations and has repeatedly denied accusations it supports the RSF.
After initially relying on ground incursions, the RSF has ramped up its air capabilities and increasingly relied on drone attacks since losing territory in Sudan’s center and east earlier this year.
The paramilitary group launched drone attacks on the capital Khartoum this week in what it said was a response to attacks by the military on civilians elsewhere in Sudan, though it was not clear what models were used in the strikes.
Analyses by the defence intelligence company Janes and Wim Zwijnenburg of Dutch peace organisation Pax confirmed the May images showed long-range delta-wing suicide drones, similar to models produced in several countries that have ranges of approximately 2,000 km.
The RSF did not immediately reply to Reuters requests for comment sent to a spokesman. On Thursday it reiterated allegations that the army had targeted civilians in drone attacks. The army has denied the allegations.
Earlier in the year, Reuters identified three Chinese-manufactured CH-95 drones with a strike distance of up to 200 km at Nyala airport. At the time, the RSF was frequently launching drone attacks on closer-range targets including fuel depots, dams, and military bases across areas controlled by the Sudanese army.
The Sudanese army has repeatedly targeted Nyala airport and its surroundings, including with strikes earlier this week.
The Yale researchers did not determine how the drones may have reached Darfur. Since the early 2000s, the Darfur region has been under an arms embargo that has been frequently violated.
(Additional reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Alexander Dziadosz and Philippa Fletcher)
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