(MENAFN) Sudan’s main airport in Khartoum came under drone attack just hours before it was scheduled to reopen for domestic flights for the first time in more than two years, local sources reported on Tuesday.

Residents said they heard explosions and saw drones over Khartoum International Airport in the early morning hours. According to the Sudan Tribune, which cited security officials, army air defenses intercepted several drones around 4 a.m. local time. Authorities have not yet confirmed any casualties or damage.

The Civil Aviation Authority announced on Monday that the airport would resume operations on Wednesday following months of runway repairs, terminal maintenance, and safety inspections. The airport has been closed since April 2023, when fierce fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

In March, Burhan declared Khartoum “free” after SAF troops recaptured the airport from RSF fighters. However, reports of renewed strikes have continued, with the paramilitary group accused of targeting both civilian and military sites in the capital and beyond.

According to a news agency, Tuesday’s attack was the third in Khartoum within a week, following drone strikes on two army bases northwest of the city on consecutive days last week.

The civil war, which began as a power struggle between Sudan’s army and the RSF, has devastated the country — killing tens of thousands, displacing millions, and crippling essential infrastructure. Research by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimates that over 61,000 people were killed in Khartoum State during the first 14 months of the conflict. The UN Human Rights Office says the fighting has caused the world’s largest displacement crisis, with nearly half of Sudan’s population facing severe food insecurity.

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