Missile event in River Nile State, Shendi area, Sudan on Tue 23rd April 2024

Sudan's army used anti-aircraft missiles on Tuesday to shoot down drones targeting its headquarters in the city of Shendi, witnesses and army sources said, the latest in a series of such drone attacks.

None of the drones hit their target, the army sources said. Reuters could not independently verify the report.

The head of Sudan's army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, arrived on Monday in Shendi, which is some 180 km (112 miles) north of the capital Khartoum, army media reported earlier. It was not immediately clear whether he remains in the area.

Sudan's army is battling the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for control of the vast country.

Tuesday's drone attack is the third targeting areas that remain solidly under army control. The city of Atbara, also in River Nile state, and al-Gedaref state to the east have also come under drone attack.

Both the army and the RSF have used drones in the conflict, which erupted a year ago.

The RSF, which controls much of Khartoum and western regions of the country, has not claimed responsibility for any of the attacks.

Shendi residents said the attacks have created panic in the town.

The war between the army and RSF has sparked warnings of famine, displaced millions, killed thousands in the crossfire and given way to ethnic killings by the RSF and allied militias.

The war appears likely to spread to the city of al-Fashir, the army's final holdout in the Darfur region, with many warning of a humanitarian catastrophe.