Turkey sent drones to Sudan to fight the Rapid Support Forces
Turkey has sent drones to Sudan to support the recognized government in their war against the Rapid Support Forces, in a move confirming Ankara’s support for Sudan’s government.
According to the Middle East Monitor on February 28th, Turkey has supplied an unspecified number of combat drones to the Sudanese military in October 2024, enabling it to launch offensives against the RSF which have pushed the paramilitary group into retreat.
One source reported that Bayraktar TB2 drones had been used to strike RSF logistical convoys, artillery batteries and response units in Al-Jazirah province in late 2024.
A senior Sudanese army officer is reported as saying, “at the beginning of the war, we lost many military bases and faced significant challenges. With the arrival of the drones, the RSF’s superiority ended. Now we have air support that matches our strength on the ground.”
Sudan’s civil war thus marks another conflict where the use of drones has proved an effective game-changer, as was seen in NATO’s operations in Libya in 2011 and Azerbaijan’s retaking of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023.
Drones have assisted the government in areas such as Khartoum and el-Obeid, major capitals that have changed hands multiple times in the nearly two-year long war.
Ankara’s support for Sudan follows other regional countries such as Egypt which have backed army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the paramilitary RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemeti.
It positions the two major regional powers against the United Arab Emirates, who are believed to back the RSF, despite diplomatic relations between Abu Dhabi and Ankara improving recently.
However, Ankara argues its position is part of a broader strategy of regional stability, one in which the stabilization of Sudan is of vital importance.
The UN Security Council has also recently raised concerns over the declaration of a new, parallel government in Sudan run by the RSF who say they wish to establish a united Sudanese state based on principles of justice and secularism. Their parallel government has been largely rejected by the international community.
Middle East Monitor, Maghrebi
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