SOUTH DARFUR – The spokesperson for Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Thursday, September 4, 2025, that the group’s air defense units had shot down a Turkish-made Bayraktar Akinci drone allegedly launched by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) over the Marshang area of South Darfur.
In a statement issued the same day, RSF spokesperson Al-Fateh Qurashi said, “the air defense forces of the RSF managed to shoot down a modern Akinci drone launched by the army.”
The development Underscores how the drone war, once largely concentrated in Khartoum, has increasingly spread to Darfur and Kordofan in recent months. The SAF has steadily relied on drone operations in these regions, citing their cost-effectiveness and high efficiency compared to traditional warplanes.
The RSF has maintained its strongest presence in South Darfur since the self-declared “Government of Tasis Alliance” announced its formation earlier this month. Under the new arrangement, RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, assumed leadership of 15-member presidential council.
However, the move has been met with sharp international rejection. The United Nations, the African Union, and the UN Security Council all issued statements refusing to recognize the so-called government.
Rights groups have also condemned the development, stressing that Hemedti should face justice for atrocities committed by RSF forces during the war in Gezira, Khartoum, west Darfur, Sennar, and White Nile States.
Meanwhile, Sudanese army officials continue to consolidate their influence across Kordofan. During a two-day visit to El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, SAF deputy commander and de facto Sovereign Council member General Shams al-Din Kabashi reiterated the army’s military objectives. He insisted that all irregular armed groups must withdraw from the city to rejoin battlefronts elsewhere.
The claim of downing an Akinci drone, one of Turkey’s most advanced unmanned combat aerial vehicles, marks a notable escalation in the conflict’s technological dimension. The drone, designed for long-endurance missions and precision strikes, has played a central role in the SAF’s strategy as it struggles to gain the upper hand over RSF-controlled territories.
Analysts note that the expanding use of drones reflects both the SAF’s dependence on foreign-supplied military technology and the RSF’s determination to demonstrate its capacity to counter advanced weapons systems. The RSF’s announcement is also likely aimed at projecting strength at a time when its political maneuvers face widespread rejection abroad.
As both sides increasingly turn to unmanned aerial warfare, civilians in Darfur and Kordofan remain trapped in the middle of an intensifying conflict. Humanitarian groups warn that the escalation could further destabilize already vulnerable communities, where displacement, hunger, and attacks against civilians have surged since the start of the war.
