Khartoum International Airport was hit by a drone attack early on Tuesday, a day before it was due to reopen for the first time since Sudan's civil war broke out more than two and a half years ago.
Witnesses in the capital's greater region said they heard explosions from the vicinity of the airport shortly after seeing drones flying low over the city in its direction. Other sites in the capital region were also attacked, residents reported, including a power transformer in Omdurman and areas surrounding an oil refinery in northern Khartoum.
Omdurman is one of three cities that comprise the Sudanese capital, together with Khartoum and Bahri. The greater capital area, however, is commonly known simply as Khartoum.
Witnesses said the saw objects in the sky before hearing explosions. "We saw flashes of light in the darkness before dawn and heard the sound of blasts before we could see columns of thick black smoke rising skyward," said Osman Hamza, who lives in Omdurman.
Another Omdurman resident, Mohammed Ibrahim, said the explosions were so loud, he thought the house next door had been blown up. "It felt like the war returned to Khartoum," he said.
"It is not unlikely now that my family and I will leave the city if this happens again," said Mr Ibrahim, who suspected the explosions were the result of kamikaze drones hitting military sites in the city.
Later on Tuesday, the army chief and de facto ruler Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan visited the airport and addressed the nation from there. In the televised speech, he vowed to defeat the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and never to allow the paramilitary to be part of Sudan's future.
"This tyrannical gang will never be allowed to hurt you," he said as he stood on the tarmac with the airport's terminal in the background. "We in the armed forces are determined to provide protection to our people in Sudan. We will do and achieve this."
There was no immediate comment on Tuesday's the attacks from the RSF, which is led Gen Mohamed Dagalo, Gen Al Burhan's former ally.
In May, the RSF launched a wave of drone attacks at a military airbase that is part of the international airport at the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, the temporary seat of the military-backed government.
They have also attacked fuel depots there as well as infrastructure sites north and south of the capital.
Tuesday's attacks, which began before dawn, came a day after Sudan's Civil Aviation Authority said the airport would reopen on Wednesday, with the gradual resumption of domestic flights when technical and operational preparations were completed.
The airport was swiftly seized by the RSF during the opening days of the war. The paramilitary then moved to capture most of the sprawling capital, territory regained by the army and allied militias in March this year. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage caused by the attack.
Khartoum has remained relatively calm since being retaken by the army and its allied militias but attack drones are still being launched, with the RSF repeatedly accused of attacking military and civilian sites.
Tuesday's strike is the third such attack on the capital this month. Last week, drones hit Khartoum on two consecutive days, striking army bases in the city's north-west. A military official said most of the drones were intercepted.
With no sign of the civil war abating, the army controls the capital as well as eastern, central and northern Sudan. The RSF, whose forerunner was a notorious militia known as the Janjaweed, controls all of Darfur – except the army-held city of El Fasher – and parts of Kordofan to the south and south-west of the vast, Afro-Arab nation.
El Fasher has been besieged by the RSF since May 2024 and is the scene of near-daily clashes between the paramilitary and the army and its allies.
There are no reliable casualty figures from the war, which is widely believed to have killed tens of thousands of people. The fighting has also displaced more than 13 million people and left more than 25 million others facing hunger or caught in pockets of famine in parts of the country.
Al Shafie Ahmed was reporting from Kampala, Uganda
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.2-litre, turbodiesel
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Power: 160hp
Torque: 385Nm
Price: Dh116,900
On sale: now
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Racecard
6.35pm: American Business Council – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.10pm: British Business Group – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.45pm: CCI France UAE – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
8.20pm: Czech Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,400m
8.55pm: Netherlands Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
9.30pm: Indian Business and Professional Council – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m
The years Ramadan fell in May
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
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RESULTS
Light Flyweight (48kg): Alua Balkibekova (KAZ) beat Gulasal Sultonalieva (UZB) by points 4-1.
Flyweight (51kg): Nazym Kyzaibay (KAZ) beat Mary Kom (IND) 3-2.
Bantamweight (54kg): Dina Zholaman (KAZ) beat Sitora Shogdarova (UZB) 3-2.
Featherweight (57kg): Sitora Turdibekova (UZB) beat Vladislava Kukhta (KAZ) 5-0.
Lightweight (60kg): Rimma Volossenko (KAZ) beat Huswatun Hasanah (INA) KO round-1.
Light Welterweight (64kg): Milana Safronova (KAZ) beat Lalbuatsaihi (IND) 3-2.
Welterweight (69kg): Valentina Khalzova (KAZ) beat Navbakhor Khamidova (UZB) 5-0
Middleweight (75kg): Pooja Rani (IND) beat Mavluda Movlonova (UZB) 5-0.
Light Heavyweight (81kg): Farida Sholtay (KAZ) beat Ruzmetova Sokhiba (UZB) 5-0.
Heavyweight (81 kg): Lazzat Kungeibayeva (KAZ) beat Anupama (IND) 3-2.
Book%20Details
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Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
