Latest news with #AlanBoswell
Irish Times
07-08-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Fighting in Sudan's civil war has reached a strategic crossroad
The centre of Sudan 's brutal civil war has shifted west as fighting between the army and paramilitary forces intensifies. The Sudanese army drove the paramilitary group, known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), from central Khartoum, the capital, in March. Since then, the RSF has turned its attention to the western Kordofan region, and Darfur, where it already controls most territory, except El Fasher, the only city in western Darfur that is still held by the Sudanese army. Now, Kordofan has become a strategic crossroad for both sides in the conflict. If the RSF wants to strike central Sudan again, it has to go through Kordofan from Darfur. And if the Sudanese army wants to push the war into RSF territory in Darfur, it likewise needs to go to Kordofan. As the two sides vie for more power in the area, more civilians are being killed in what rights groups say is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Taking Kordofan 'would shift the momentum of this war quite dramatically', said Alan Boswell, director of the Horn of Africa project at the International Crisis Group. READ MORE The RSF declared a parallel government based in Darfur in April. Last week, the group repelled an organised attack by the Sudanese army and launched its own strike in North Kordofan state, according to Sudan War Monitor, a research group tracking the war. The RSF detained and executed dozens of military prisoners, the group said. The United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner verified the killing of 60 civilians at the hands of the RSF in North Kordofan's Bara region in July, the group said in a statement. Other estimates place the death toll in the hundreds. Unicef reported that 35 children and two pregnant women were killed in the violence. The human rights office also reported that Sudanese army air strikes killed at least 34 people in West and North Kordofan states during the same month. Sheldon Yett, Unicef's representative to Sudan, said the organisation had seen schools, health centres and civilians targeted in the fighting in Kordofan. 'We're on the cusp of a catastrophe,' he said. 'We've been trying for months and months and months to get supplies in, but when you're a driver and you see a man with an AK-47 telling you to turn around, you turn around.' The fighting has made it nearly impossible for aid groups to send life-saving supplies or even clearly assess the situation. 'What's happening in Kordofan is invisible,' Yett added. 'We can't get our supplies there or our people there. Bad things happen in darkness.' In June, the Sudanese army announced its retreat from the northwestern border, giving the RSF unfettered access to supplies passed along the country's borders with Chad, Egypt and Libya , after accusing Libyan forces of supporting the Sudanese paramilitary forces. While the triangle border area is relatively far from the Kordofan and Darfur regions, Boswell said, the Sudanese army's evacuation could have some effect on the fighting in Kordofan. 'It looks like taking that border area has eased supply lines for the RSF,' he said. 'Keeping the RSF supplied is a massive logistical operation because Darfur is a very difficult place to reach.' Authorities in eastern Libya reported deporting 700 Sudanese citizens in July after they were detained in central and southeastern Libya. Some deportees had hepatitis and Aids, while others had been charged with crimes, officials said. Sudan's civil war began in April 2023, after a feud between rival generals. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, and millions have fled their homes. Famine has gripped parts of the country. Both the RSF and the Sudanese army have been accused of war crimes and human rights violations, and both are backed by foreign powers that supply the weapons fuelling the war. [ Sudan, Remember Us review: A brief moment of possibility punctuated by shocking violence Opens in new window ] The United Arab Emirates , despite branding itself as a force for peacemaking in the war, has for years supported the RSF with drones, which have become a major part of the war in Kordofan and other parts of the country. The UAE denies supplying weapons to any party in the conflict and says it is committed to efforts aimed at an immediate ceasefire. In May, the RSF pummelled Port Sudan with drone strikes, bringing the war to a city that had been a haven for civilians fleeing war. That same month, the International Criminal Court dismissed a case accusing the UAE of perpetuating the war by assisting the RSF. – This article originally appeared in The New York Times .
New York Times
06-08-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
‘Bad Things Happen in Darkness': Sudan's Civil War Shifts West
The center of Sudan's brutal civil war has shifted west as fighting between the army and paramilitary forces intensifies. The Sudanese Army drove the paramilitary group, known as the Rapid Support Forces (R.S.F.), from central Khartoum, the capital, in March. Since then, the R.S.F. has turned its attention to the western Kordofan region, and Darfur, where it already controls most territory, except El Fasher, the only city in western Darfur that is still held by the Sudanese Army. Now, Kordofan has become a strategic crossroad for both sides in the conflict. If the R.S.F. wants to strike central Sudan again, it has to go through Kordofan from Darfur. And if the Sudanese Army wants to push the war into R.S.F. territory in Darfur, it likewise needs to go to Kordofan. As the two sides vie for more power in the area, more civilians are being killed in what rights groups say is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Taking Kordofan 'would shift the momentum of this war quite dramatically,' said Alan Boswell, director of the Horn of Africa project at the International Crisis Group. The R.S.F. declared a parallel government based in Darfur in April. Last week, the group repelled an organized attack by the Sudanese Army and launched its own strike in North Kordofan state, according to Sudan War Monitor, a research group tracking the war. The R.S.F. detained and executed dozens of military prisoners, the group said. The United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner verified the killing of 60 civilians at the hands of the R.S.F. in North Kordofan's Bara region in July, the group said in a statement. Other estimates place the death toll in the hundreds. UNICEF reported that 35 children and two pregnant women were killed in the violence. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Drone attacks raise stakes in new phase of Sudan's civil war
Paramilitary fighters appear to have opened a new phase in Sudan's civil war after being driven from the capital, in a move which some experts have described as a "shock and awe campaign". Just weeks after the army celebrated the recapture of Khartoum, its foe the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a series of unprecedented drone strikes on Port Sudan in the east of the country. The attacks have led to worsening power blackouts, as well as city residents facing water shortages. "It's a level of power projection within this region that we haven't seen yet," says Alan Boswell, the Horn of Africa expert for the International Crisis Group. "I think it raises the stakes quite a bit," he added. The barrage of attacks on the war-time capital and humanitarian hub signals that the RSF is determined and able to carry on the fight despite significant territorial losses. And it has showcased the growth of advanced drone warfare in Africa. Drones have played an increasing role in the conflict, which has entered its third year. The war began as a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF and has drawn in other Sudanese armed groups and foreign backers, plunging the country into what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) helped the army advance earlier this year. And the RSF escalated its own use of drones as it was pushed out of central Sudan, especially Khartoum, back towards its traditional stronghold in the west of the country. In recent months the paramilitaries had stepped up drone strikes on critical civilian infrastructure in army-controlled areas, such as dams and power stations. But their sustained attacks on Port Sudan, until now seen as a safe haven home to government officials, diplomats and humanitarian organisations, underlined a shift in strategy to a greater emphasis on remote warfare, and aimed to demonstrate strength. "The RSF is trying to show that they don't need to reach Port Sudan by land in order to be able to have an impact there," says Sudanese political analyst Kholood Khair. The group is trying to achieve a "narrative shift" away from "the triumphant SAF that took over Khartoum," she says. "It is saying to the Sudanese Armed Forces: 'You can take Khartoum back, but you'll never be able to govern it. You can have Port Sudan, but you won't be able to govern it, because we will cause a security crisis for you so large that it will be ungovernable'... They want to unequivocally show that the war is not over until they say so." The paramilitary group has not directly addressed the Port Sudan drone attacks. Rather, it has repeated its assertion that the SAF is supported by Iran and accused the armed forces of targeting civilian infrastructure and state institutions, calling the military strikes on Khartoum and RSF-held areas in the west and south of the country war crimes. Both sides stand accused of war crimes which they have denied, but the RSF has been singled out over allegations of mass rape and genocide. The change in its tactics may have been triggered by battlefield necessity, but is possible because of technological advancement. The RSF had previously used what are known as suicide or loitering drones, small UAVs with explosive payloads that are designed to crash into targets and can carry out coordinated attacks. It seems to have deployed this method in Port Sudan, with the commander of the Red Sea Military Zone Mahjoub Bushra describing a swarm of 11 Kamikaze drones in the first strike on a military airbase. He said the army shot them down, but they turned out to be a tactical distraction to divert attention from a single strategic drone that successfully struck the base. The make of this drone is not clear. But satellite images reported by Yale researchers and the Reuters news agency have shown advanced UAVs at an airport in South Darfur since the beginning of the year. The defence intelligence company Janes has determined them to most likely be sophisticated Chinese manufactured CH-95s, capable of long-range strikes. Jeremy Binnie, an Africa and Middle East analyst at Jane's, told the BBC that photos of what appear to be the remnants of the smaller kamikaze drones suggest they are probably a different version than the RSF had used before, and might be better at penetrating air defences because of their shape. One regional observer suggested the RSF had been able to breach the SAF's anti-drone technology with signal jammers attached to the drones, but cautioned this was still unproven. The South Darfur airport in Nyala, the presumptive capital and military base of the Rapid Support Forces, has been repeatedly bombed by the SAF, which destroyed an aircraft there earlier this month. Some experts see the RSF's bombardment of Port Sudan at least partly as retaliation. Inside Khartoum, a city left in ruins Sudan war: A simple guide to what is happening The escalating drone warfare has again highlighted the role of foreign actors in Sudan's civil conflict. "This is a war of technology," says Justin Lynch, managing director at Conflict Insights Group, a data analytics and research organisation. "That's why the foreign supporters are so important, because it's not like the RSF is making the weapons themselves. They're being given this stuff." The army has accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of supplying the paramilitary fighters with the drones, and cut diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi because of the attacks. The UAE has strongly rejected the charges. It has long denied reports from UN experts, US politicians and international organisations that it is providing weaponry to the RSF. But Mr Lynch says the evidence is overwhelming. He was the lead author of a US State Department-funded report late last year that concluded with "near certainty" the the UAE was facilitating weapons to the RSF by monitoring imagery and flight patterns of airlines previously implicated in violating a UN arms embargo. He told the BBC it would be surprising if the Emiratis were not helping deliver the drones used in the Port Sudan attacks. He also determined with similar near-certainty that the Iranians were supplying weapons to the SAF, and he helped authenticate documents provided to the Washington Post that detail the sale of drones and warheads to the army by a Turkish defence firm. Iran has not responded to the allegations. Turkish officials have denied involvement. The increasing use of drones by both sides may be redefining the war, but it is the ability of the RSF to strike strategic targets hundreds of kilometres from its positions that has rattled the region. Over a week of daily attacks on Port Sudan, the paramilitaries hit the country's only working international airport, a power station, several fuel depots, and the air base, apparently trying to disrupt the army's supply lines. The city is also the main entry port for relief supplies and the UN has warned that this "major escalation" could further complicate aid operations in the country and lead to large-scale civilian casualties. "This was such a shock and awe campaign that it has not only stunned SAF, I think it's also stunned Egypt, Saudi Arabia, others who were behind SAF, and remakes the entire war," says Mr Boswell, adding that it closing the gap in air power between the RSF and the army. "The RSF is widely viewed as a non-state actor," he says "and normally, groups like that can muster quite a bit of an insurgent force. But the government with the air force is the one that always has the aerial capacity, and this just turns all those old adages on its head." The development has triggered comparisons to the long-range drone warfare between Russia and Ukraine. "These weapons have more precision, you don't need a manned aircraft any more, and they are much more affordable than operating sophisticated jets," says Mr Binnie. "This is part of a broader trend in technological proliferation where you can see what used to be really high-end capabilities being used in a civil war in sub-Saharan Africa." The Sudanese foreign ministry has warned that the attacks threaten regional security and the safety of navigation in the Red Sea, calling on international actors to take "effective action against the regional sponsor of the militia," a reference to the UAE. Mr Lynch believes that only an agreement between the UAE and the Sudanese army will end the war. "This war is always evolving, always changing," he says, "but you'll see it will continue for years and decades unless there is serious diplomatic action to stop it." WATCH: 'They ransacked my home, and left my town in ruins' The children living between starvation and death BBC reporter: My heartbreaking decision to leave Sudan Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Drone attacks raise stakes in new phase of Sudan's civil war
Paramilitary fighters appear to have opened a new phase in Sudan's civil war after being driven from the capital, in a move which some experts have described as a "shock and awe campaign". Just weeks after the army celebrated the recapture of Khartoum, its foe the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a series of unprecedented drone strikes on Port Sudan in the east of the country. The attacks have led to worsening power blackouts, as well as city residents facing water shortages. "It's a level of power projection within this region that we haven't seen yet," says Alan Boswell, the Horn of Africa expert for the International Crisis Group. "I think it raises the stakes quite a bit," he added. The barrage of attacks on the war-time capital and humanitarian hub signals that the RSF is determined and able to carry on the fight despite significant territorial losses. And it has showcased the growth of advanced drone warfare in Africa. Drones have played an increasing role in the conflict, which has entered its third year. The war began as a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF and has drawn in other Sudanese armed groups and foreign backers, plunging the country into what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) helped the army advance earlier this year. And the RSF escalated its own use of drones as it was pushed out of central Sudan, especially Khartoum, back towards its traditional stronghold in the west of the country. In recent months the paramilitaries had stepped up drone strikes on critical civilian infrastructure in army-controlled areas, such as dams and power stations. But their sustained attacks on Port Sudan, until now seen as a safe haven home to government officials, diplomats and humanitarian organisations, underlined a shift in strategy to a greater emphasis on remote warfare, and aimed to demonstrate strength. "The RSF is trying to show that they don't need to reach Port Sudan by land in order to be able to have an impact there," says Sudanese political analyst Kholood Khair. The group is trying to achieve a "narrative shift" away from "the triumphant SAF that took over Khartoum," she says. "It is saying to the Sudanese Armed Forces: 'You can take Khartoum back, but you'll never be able to govern it. You can have Port Sudan, but you won't be able to govern it, because we will cause a security crisis for you so large that it will be ungovernable'... They want to unequivocally show that the war is not over until they say so." The paramilitary group has not directly addressed the Port Sudan drone attacks. Rather, it has repeated its assertion that the SAF is supported by Iran and accused the armed forces of targeting civilian infrastructure and state institutions, calling the military strikes on Khartoum and RSF-held areas in the west and south of the country war crimes. Both sides stand accused of war crimes which they have denied, but the RSF has been singled out over allegations of mass rape and genocide. The change in its tactics may have been triggered by battlefield necessity, but is possible because of technological advancement. The RSF had previously used what are known as suicide or loitering drones, small UAVs with explosive payloads that are designed to crash into targets and can carry out coordinated attacks. It seems to have deployed this method in Port Sudan, with the commander of the Red Sea Military Zone Mahjoub Bushra describing a swarm of 11 Kamikaze drones in the first strike on a military airbase. He said the army shot them down, but they turned out to be a tactical distraction to divert attention from a single strategic drone that successfully struck the base. The make of this drone is not clear. But satellite images reported by Yale researchers and the Reuters news agency have shown advanced UAVs at an airport in South Darfur since the beginning of the year. The defence intelligence company Janes has determined them to most likely be sophisticated Chinese manufactured CH-95s, capable of long-range strikes. Jeremy Binnie, an Africa and Middle East analyst at Jane's, told the BBC that photos of what appear to be the remnants of the smaller kamikaze drones suggest they are probably a different version than the RSF had used before, and might be better at penetrating air defences because of their shape. One regional observer suggested the RSF had been able to breach the SAF's anti-drone technology with signal jammers attached to the drones, but cautioned this was still unproven. The South Darfur airport in Nyala, the presumptive capital and military base of the Rapid Support Forces, has been repeatedly bombed by the SAF, which destroyed an aircraft there earlier this month. Some experts see the RSF's bombardment of Port Sudan at least partly as retaliation. Inside Khartoum, a city left in ruins Sudan war: A simple guide to what is happening The escalating drone warfare has again highlighted the role of foreign actors in Sudan's civil conflict. "This is a war of technology," says Justin Lynch, managing director at Conflict Insights Group, a data analytics and research organisation. "That's why the foreign supporters are so important, because it's not like the RSF is making the weapons themselves. They're being given this stuff." The army has accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of supplying the paramilitary fighters with the drones, and cut diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi because of the attacks. The UAE has strongly rejected the charges. It has long denied reports from UN experts, US politicians and international organisations that it is providing weaponry to the RSF. But Mr Lynch says the evidence is overwhelming. He was the lead author of a US State Department-funded report late last year that concluded with "near certainty" the the UAE was facilitating weapons to the RSF by monitoring imagery and flight patterns of airlines previously implicated in violating a UN arms embargo. He told the BBC it would be surprising if the Emiratis were not helping deliver the drones used in the Port Sudan attacks. He also determined with similar near-certainty that the Iranians were supplying weapons to the SAF, and he helped authenticate documents provided to the Washington Post that detail the sale of drones and warheads to the army by a Turkish defence firm. Iran has not responded to the allegations. Turkish officials have denied involvement. The increasing use of drones by both sides may be redefining the war, but it is the ability of the RSF to strike strategic targets hundreds of kilometres from its positions that has rattled the region. Over a week of daily attacks on Port Sudan, the paramilitaries hit the country's only working international airport, a power station, several fuel depots, and the air base, apparently trying to disrupt the army's supply lines. The city is also the main entry port for relief supplies and the UN has warned that this "major escalation" could further complicate aid operations in the country and lead to large-scale civilian casualties. "This was such a shock and awe campaign that it has not only stunned SAF, I think it's also stunned Egypt, Saudi Arabia, others who were behind SAF, and remakes the entire war," says Mr Boswell, adding that it closing the gap in air power between the RSF and the army. "The RSF is widely viewed as a non-state actor," he says "and normally, groups like that can muster quite a bit of an insurgent force. But the government with the air force is the one that always has the aerial capacity, and this just turns all those old adages on its head." The development has triggered comparisons to the long-range drone warfare between Russia and Ukraine. "These weapons have more precision, you don't need a manned aircraft any more, and they are much more affordable than operating sophisticated jets," says Mr Binnie. "This is part of a broader trend in technological proliferation where you can see what used to be really high-end capabilities being used in a civil war in sub-Saharan Africa." The Sudanese foreign ministry has warned that the attacks threaten regional security and the safety of navigation in the Red Sea, calling on international actors to take "effective action against the regional sponsor of the militia," a reference to the UAE. Mr Lynch believes that only an agreement between the UAE and the Sudanese army will end the war. "This war is always evolving, always changing," he says, "but you'll see it will continue for years and decades unless there is serious diplomatic action to stop it." WATCH: 'They ransacked my home, and left my town in ruins' The children living between starvation and death BBC reporter: My heartbreaking decision to leave Sudan Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
BBC News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Port Sudan strikes: Drone attacks raise stakes in new phase of bloody civil war
Paramilitary fighters appear to have opened a new phase in Sudan's civil war after being driven from the capital, in a move which some experts have described as a "shock and awe campaign".Just weeks after the army celebrated the recapture of Khartoum, its foe the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a series of unprecedented drone strikes on Port Sudan in the east of the attacks have led to worsening power blackouts, as well as city residents facing water shortages."It's a level of power projection within this region that we haven't seen yet," says Alan Boswell, the Horn of Africa expert for the International Crisis Group."I think it raises the stakes quite a bit," he barrage of attacks on the war-time capital and humanitarian hub signals that the RSF is determined and able to carry on the fight despite significant territorial it has showcased the growth of advanced drone warfare in Africa. Drones have played an increasing role in the conflict, which has entered its third year. The war began as a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF and has drawn in other Sudanese armed groups and foreign backers, plunging the country into what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian aerial vehicles (UAVs) helped the army advance earlier this year. And the RSF escalated its own use of drones as it was pushed out of central Sudan, especially Khartoum, back towards its traditional stronghold in the west of the recent months the paramilitaries had stepped up drone strikes on critical civilian infrastructure in army-controlled areas, such as dams and power their sustained attacks on Port Sudan, until now seen as a safe haven home to government officials, diplomats and humanitarian organisations, underlined a shift in strategy to a greater emphasis on remote warfare, and aimed to demonstrate strength. "The RSF is trying to show that they don't need to reach Port Sudan by land in order to be able to have an impact there," says Sudanese political analyst Kholood group is trying to achieve a "narrative shift" away from "the triumphant SAF that took over Khartoum," she says."It is saying to the Sudanese Armed Forces: 'You can take Khartoum back, but you'll never be able to govern it. You can have Port Sudan, but you won't be able to govern it, because we will cause a security crisis for you so large that it will be ungovernable'... They want to unequivocally show that the war is not over until they say so."The paramilitary group has not directly addressed the Port Sudan drone attacks. Rather, it has repeated its assertion that the SAF is supported by Iran and accused the armed forces of targeting civilian infrastructure and state institutions, calling the military strikes on Khartoum and RSF-held areas in the west and south of the country war sides stand accused of war crimes which they have denied, but the RSF has been singled out over allegations of mass rape and change in its tactics may have been triggered by battlefield necessity, but is possible because of technological RSF had previously used what are known as suicide or loitering drones, small UAVs with explosive payloads that are designed to crash into targets and can carry out coordinated seems to have deployed this method in Port Sudan, with the commander of the Red Sea Military Zone Mahjoub Bushra describing a swarm of 11 Kamikaze drones in the first strike on a military airbase. He said the army shot them down, but they turned out to be a tactical distraction to divert attention from a single strategic drone that successfully struck the make of this drone is not clear. But satellite images reported by Yale researchers and the Reuters news agency have shown advanced UAVs at an airport in South Darfur since the beginning of the year. The defence intelligence company Janes has determined them to most likely be sophisticated Chinese manufactured CH-95s, capable of long-range Binnie, an Africa and Middle East analyst at Jane's, told the BBC that photos of what appear to be the remnants of the smaller kamikaze drones suggest they are probably a different version than the RSF had used before, and might be better at penetrating air defences because of their shape. One regional observer suggested the RSF had been able to breach the SAF's anti-drone technology with signal jammers attached to the drones, but cautioned this was still South Darfur airport in Nyala, the presumptive capital and military base of the Rapid Support Forces, has been repeatedly bombed by the SAF, which destroyed an aircraft there earlier this month. Some experts see the RSF's bombardment of Port Sudan at least partly as Khartoum, a city left in ruinsSudan war: A simple guide to what is happeningThe escalating drone warfare has again highlighted the role of foreign actors in Sudan's civil conflict."This is a war of technology," says Justin Lynch, managing director at Conflict Insights Group, a data analytics and research organisation. "That's why the foreign supporters are so important, because it's not like the RSF is making the weapons themselves. They're being given this stuff."The army has accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of supplying the paramilitary fighters with the drones, and cut diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi because of the UAE has strongly rejected the charges. It has long denied reports from UN experts, US politicians and international organisations that it is providing weaponry to the Mr Lynch says the evidence is overwhelming. He was the lead author of a US State Department-funded report late last year that concluded with "near certainty" the the UAE was facilitating weapons to the RSF by monitoring imagery and flight patterns of airlines previously implicated in violating a UN arms embargo. He told the BBC it would be surprising if the Emiratis were not helping deliver the drones used in the Port Sudan also determined with similar near-certainty that the Iranians were supplying weapons to the SAF, and he helped authenticate documents provided to the Washington Post that detail the sale of drones and warheads to the army by a Turkish defence has not responded to the allegations. Turkish officials have denied increasing use of drones by both sides may be redefining the war, but it is the ability of the RSF to strike strategic targets hundreds of kilometres from its positions that has rattled the a week of daily attacks on Port Sudan, the paramilitaries hit the country's only working international airport, a power station, several fuel depots, and the air base, apparently trying to disrupt the army's supply city is also the main entry port for relief supplies and the UN has warned that this "major escalation" could further complicate aid operations in the country and lead to large-scale civilian casualties."This was such a shock and awe campaign that it has not only stunned SAF, I think it's also stunned Egypt, Saudi Arabia, others who were behind SAF, and remakes the entire war," says Mr Boswell, adding that it closing the gap in air power between the RSF and the army."The RSF is widely viewed as a non-state actor," he says "and normally, groups like that can muster quite a bit of an insurgent force. But the government with the air force is the one that always has the aerial capacity, and this just turns all those old adages on its head." The development has triggered comparisons to the long-range drone warfare between Russia and Ukraine."These weapons have more precision, you don't need a manned aircraft any more, and they are much more affordable than operating sophisticated jets," says Mr Binnie. "This is part of a broader trend in technological proliferation where you can see what used to be really high-end capabilities being used in a civil war in sub-Saharan Africa."The Sudanese foreign ministry has warned that the attacks threaten regional security and the safety of navigation in the Red Sea, calling on international actors to take "effective action against the regional sponsor of the militia," a reference to the Lynch believes that only an agreement between the UAE and the Sudanese army will end the war."This war is always evolving, always changing," he says, "but you'll see it will continue for years and decades unless there is serious diplomatic action to stop it." More about Sudan's civil war from the BBC: WATCH: 'They ransacked my home, and left my town in ruins'The children living between starvation and deathBBC reporter: My heartbreaking decision to leave Sudan Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
