Sudanese army resumes air strikes on paramilitary-held South Darfur capital

September 22, 2026 (NYALA) – The Sudanese military launched heavy air strikes on Monday night against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Nyala, local residents and sources said, breaking months of calm in the South Darfur capital.

The air assault targeted a critical administrative and logistics base for the RSF, which seized control of Nyala late last year as it consolidated its hold over Sudan’s western Darfur region.

Drones hovered over the city for hours before launching missiles at ammunition depots, training sites, government facilities, and residences housing RSF commanders, according to local sources.

Strikes hit several districts across the city, including Al-Riyadh, Al-Mustaqbal, Khartoum Bel-Leil, areas near the airport, and the former UNAMID peacekeeping base, which the RSF now uses as a military outpost.

Witnesses said powerful blasts shook the city, triggering panic as ambulances rushed towards the local Turkish Hospital and the Onakira clinic. Casualty numbers could not be independently verified immediately.

Nyala International Airport has increasingly functioned as a major supply hub for the RSF, which local observers say has built drone hangars, deployed air defence systems, and received regular late-night cargo flights.

Following the raids, the RSF detained several civilians at Nyala’s central market and at Starlink satellite internet centres, accusing them of spying for the army and sharing target coordinates, residents said.

The army previously conducted sustained air strikes on the city in June, targeting weapon stockpiles, fuel stores, and air defence positions.

Neither the Sudanese armed forces nor the RSF immediately issued an official statement regarding Monday’s strikes.