Sudan’s Burhan vows to stop drone attacks on power grid, threatens RSF backers
April 26, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, vowed on Saturday to halt drone attacks targeting the country’s power stations and threatened retribution against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their supporters.
The RSF has acquired advanced drones used repeatedly to bomb power facilities in northern, eastern, and central Sudan, alongside artillery shelling of residential areas in Omdurman and El Fasher, according to military statements and reports.
“People should not fear the drone bombing of electricity (infrastructure). Soon, we will hear no more of it, nor of anyone who uses them or stands behind them,” Burhan said, addressing an event for war victims and displaced families.
Burhan, who also heads Sudan’s ruling Sovereignty Council, pledged to “liberate Sudan inch by inch” and exact a “heavy price” for the suffering caused by the RSF, which he referred to as a “militia.”
“We will not rest until we uproot the militia and eradicate those who support it and stand beside it,” he stated.
He urged Sudanese citizens allegedly “misled” into joining the RSF not to follow the group or the family of its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, describing them as “newcomers… with no connection to this land.”
Burhan warned against communal polarisation, stating that anyone aligning with the RSF “will meet the same fate” as fighters killed in Khartoum, Al Jazirah state, and El Fasher. The RSF draws significant support from Arab tribes in Darfur and Kordofan, while other groups have mobilised to fight alongside the army.
The army chief asserted Sudan’s military doctrine was defensive. “We did not think of acquiring weapons to attack neighbours… as countries are doing to us now,” he said. “This makes us reconsider our calculations… so that we can retaliate,” he stressed.
He warned political forces, communities, and countries supporting the RSF that they faced “demise and destruction.”
Sudan’s government accuses the United Arab Emirates of arming the RSF via Chad, a charge the UAE denies. It has also criticised Kenya for hosting political meetings involving RSF allies.
Defence Minister Lieutenant General Yassin Ibrahim, speaking separately, claimed Sudan faced a conspiracy backed by unnamed countries and “weak-souled individuals,” but expressed confidence in defeating these “schemes.”