RSF Drones Reportedly Target Wad Madani and Um Rawaba; Military Source Says Sudan’s Army Shot Them Down
Drones attributed to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira state, and Um Rawaba in North Kordofan at dawn on Sunday 25 October 2026, according to Sudanese media. A military source told Ultra Sudan that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) shot down suicide drones aimed at Wad Madani. The army has not issued a formal statement, the RSF has not commented, and no casualty or damage figures have been published.
What is reported
Al-Unwan 24, citing field sources, said early on Sunday that air defences had foiled an attempt to strike depots in Wad Madani with drones, and separately that RSF drones had targeted Um Rawaba. It later reported that army air defences had repelled two drone attacks on the two cities. Some local social-media accounts claimed that drones hit two fuel stations in Um Rawaba; DefenceMENA has not found confirmation of that from officials or independent media.
The number and type of drones involved have not been disclosed. The interceptions are claims from one side and have not been independently verified.
A week of strikes on fuel and power
The reported attacks follow several strikes on infrastructure in the same area. On 20 October an RSF drone fired two missiles at the Tendelti transformer station in western White Nile state, government sources told Sudan Tribune; residents of Um Rawaba, Er Rahad and El Obeid reported power cuts at the same time. On 23 October the North Kordofan state government accused the RSF of drone attacks on fuel stations and service facilities in Er Rahad and Um Rawaba on 22 and 23 October, without giving casualty or damage details, Anadolu Agency reported. In late September drones struck the Um Aleila fuel depots near Wad Madani (Al-Ahram).
UN count and cross-border strike
On 23 October the UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, said drone strikes had killed at least 306 people in Sudan in the first three weeks of October, and attributed them to both the SAF and the RSF (UN News). They include the 19 October strike on Amiet market in Abyei, which DefenceMENA reported on 20 October.
On the evening of 20 October a drone strike near Tine killed five people, including two humanitarian volunteers, at Bamina, a site inside Chad where Sudanese refugees from North Darfur have gathered, the local emergency response room said (Sudan Tribune). The emergency room did not attribute the strike; volunteers in the area blamed the RSF. The RSF has previously admitted some cross-border strikes into Chad and said they were mistakes.
Previous developments
On 22 October the army said it had shot down a drone crossing from Ethiopia and retaken Bakouri in Blue Nile. On 24 October an RSF officer who says he commanded the Nyala South sector announced his defection to the army.
