Three children killed as army intercepts RSF drones near Khartoum airport
This story updates previous reporting on the RSF drone attack on Khartoum on Monday, October 19, 2026.
October 19, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese army anti-aircraft defences on Monday intercepted drones launched by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) near Khartoum International Airport, but one drone crashed into a residential house, killing three children.
The army’s air defences shot down two RSF drones on Monday morning in the Burri and Nasser neighbourhoods, located east of central Khartoum, a security source told Sudan Tribune.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing and hearing army anti-aircraft fire engaging drones flying over the capital.
Three children died after a drone crashed into their home in the Imtidad Nasser neighbourhood east of the airport, medical sources and eyewitnesses said.
The three children were between two and six years old.
The children’s mother sustained critical injuries and was admitted to an intensive care unit.
The Sudanese government has not yet commented on the attack.
The Burri and Nasser neighbourhoods border Khartoum International Airport and, to the east and northeast, the army’s general command headquarters.
Khartoum International Airport resumed operations in February 2026 after being closed since the conflict erupted in April 2023.
The area surrounding the airport has previously been targeted by drone strikes during its rehabilitation phase.
Both the Sudanese army and the RSF have recently intensified their use of combat drones in the ongoing conflict.
Over the past two days, the army targeted RSF positions in Nyala in South Darfur, as well as Abu Zaima, Al-Dabab, and Al-Khuwei in West Kordofan.
Meanwhile, RSF drones attacked military and government facilities in the eastern Sudanese states of Gedaref and Kassala.