The repercussions of Sudan’s war have moved closer to the country’s eastern border with Ethiopia, following intensified fighting in Blue Nile State and the army’s announcement that it had shot down drones it said had approached from Ethiopian territory.
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The development came as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies announced that they had seized strategic areas in the border state.
The escalation places two of Sudan’s neighbors—Chad to the west and Ethiopia to the east—in increasingly close proximity to a war that has entered its fourth year, raising concerns that expanding military operations near the borders could increase the risk of the conflict spilling over into the wider region.
N’Djamena had already raised its state of alert along its border with Sudan after accusing the Sudanese army of carrying out a strike inside Chadian territory targeting a convoy of vehicles. Khartoum has rejected attributing responsibility for the attack to the army without an independent investigation.
Advances in Blue Nile
In the latest development on the eastern front, the RSF, together with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu, announced that it had captured the Sirkam and Bakori military bases in Blue Nile State near the Ethiopian border following heavy fighting with the army.
RSF spokesperson Al-Fateh Qurashi said forces belonging to the Founding Sudan (Tasis) alliance had taken control of the two bases, inflicting losses on the army and allied forces and seizing combat vehicles, tanks, weapons and ammunition.
The RSF released footage it said showed its fighters inside the Sirkam military base. However, the details of its account and the scale of the reported casualties could not be independently verified.
Local sources, meanwhile, said the army had “repelled an attack on Bakori,” leaving control of the area disputed in the absence of a detailed army statement clarifying the situation on the ground.
Sirkam and Bakori are considered militarily significant because of their location along routes that could allow attacking forces to expand their operations northward toward Damazin, the capital and political, military and administrative center of Blue Nile State.
The escalation came a day after the army announced that it had shot down what it described as an “enemy strategic drone,” saying it had entered from the direction of Ethiopian territory. The army said it was the third drone it had downed in less than a week.
There has been no independent investigation establishing where the drones were launched or which party was operating them.
The RSF and its ally, the SPLM-N, had already seized the strategic towns of Kurmak and Qeisan along the Ethiopian border in early August. The advance triggered widespread displacement and made Blue Nile one of the most active fronts in the war.
Drones Kill Civilians
Meanwhile, at least eight people were killed and dozens of civilians injured in two drone strikes in the Sarou area, north of Sudri locality in North Kordofan State.
Emergency Lawyers, a group documenting violations during the war, said a drone targeted civilians in the area and then launched another strike as people attempted to provide assistance to the wounded. The attacks also destroyed four civilian vehicles.
The group did not identify those responsible for the strikes, and neither the army nor the RSF issued a comment.
Emergency Lawyers called for an independent investigation and accountability, stressing that the targeted area was civilian and showed no signs of military activity.
Drone warfare has intensified significantly in recent months, with strikes targeting military positions as well as civilian areas and energy and water infrastructure, particularly across the Kordofan region.
The shifting focus of military operations between Sudan’s western border with Chad and its southeastern border with Ethiopia reflects the expanding geographical scope of the war and raises concerns that border areas could evolve from supply and displacement routes into active battlegrounds, increasing the risk of confrontation with neighboring countries.
