Days of renewed drone attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) around Khartoum and a fresh offensive in Kordofan suggest the paramilitary group is trying to wrest back momentum from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), but the escalation may also reflect mounting pressure on the RSF following a string of military losses and defections.

The RSF launched drone attacks around Omdurman, west of Khartoum, for a second consecutive day on Thursday, with Sudanese army air defenses intercepting several drones over northern and western parts of the city, according to local reports. The strikes followed a wave of drone attacks Wednesday targeting Atbara, Bahri, ad-Damir, Khartoum, and el-Obeid.

At the same time, the RSF stepped up efforts to retake ground it had recently lost in North Kordofan. The SAF said on Thursday that it had repelled a major assault on Jabra al-Sheikh involving more than 250 RSF combat vehicles, as the remaining fighters retreated toward Darfur, according to the military. On Friday, the RSF reportedly launched another ground assault, near el-Obeid. Citing military sources, the Sudan Tribune reported that government forces had repelled two RSF assaults.

The renewed fighting comes as the RSF seeks to blunt recent SAF advances in Kordofan, even as it has demonstrated that it remains capable of opening new fronts elsewhere, including in Blue Nile state.