Sudanese army says it downed RSF drone, ambushed fighters in Blue Nile

September 19, 2026 (ED DAMAZIN) – Sudan’s army said on Saturday it shot down a long-range drone operated by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the southeastern Blue Nile region and carried out an ambush that inflicted heavy losses on the RSF and an allied rebel group.

The drone was the third brought down by military air defences in the area within 24 hours, the army said.

Fighting has escalated in Blue Nile in recent months as the RSF attempts to push deeper into the border region, while the military fights to hold its ground.

The army’s 4th Infantry Division command said in a statement that air defence units intercepted a strategic reconnaissance drone in the Kurmuk sector after it entered the airspace to monitor troop positions.

Military monitoring systems tracked and engaged the unmanned aircraft without sustaining any casualties or damage, the command said.

In a separate statement, the division said its troops and allied fighters ambushed RSF and affiliated forces in the town of Magaja, killing and wounding fighters and destroying vehicles and equipment.

The RSF could not immediately be reached for comment, and claims could not be independently verified.

Clashes in Blue Nile flared in January when an alliance of the RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) took control of Kurmuk and Geissan near the Ethiopian border, as well as the military outposts of Bakkori and Surkum.