A devastating drone assault leveled key infrastructure in Port Sudan this week in what intelligence officials describe as a retaliatory strike by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), marking a sharp escalation in the covert war playing out across Sudan between the UAE and Turkey.
The attack, which occurred late Tuesday evening, targeted Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) positions and logistical nodes in Port Sudan, a city under government control since the civil war erupted in 2023. Multiple precision-guided munitions struck military hangars, communications hubs, and suspected drone storage facilities, according to satellite imagery reviewed by regional defense analysts.
Sudanese officials confirmed that the assault resulted in at least 37 deaths, including four Emirati officers believed to have been overseeing Rapid Support Forces (RSF) drone operations. These high-ranking officers were reportedly embedded with RSF units under the guise of technical advisors.
The RSF, which has been locked in a brutal war with the Sudanese government for over two years, initially claimed responsibility for the strike in a carefully worded statement that emphasized the group’s domestic capabilities. However, a classified joint intelligence assessment obtained by a Western diplomat in Khartoum leaves little doubt about the true orchestrators.
“Based on drone debris, telemetry analysis, and intercepted RSF communications, the strike was conducted by UAE-manufactured Wing Loong II drones launched from improvised airstrips in western Darfur,” the assessment reads. “This was not an RSF-led operation. It was a UAE response to the SAF’s destruction of Emirati assets in El Obeid.”
That earlier SAF operation, carried out last week with Turkish-provided Bayraktar TB2 drones, resulted in the destruction of at least three RSF cargo aircraft suspected of transporting weapons from the UAE to the RSF stronghold in Nyala. Video footage released by the Sudanese military showed large secondary explosions, indicating that the aircraft were carrying significant quantities of munitions.
“This was a turning point,” said a senior Sudanese intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Our Turkish allies provided real-time targeting intelligence. We took out an entire supply chain. The UAE could not ignore that.”
The death of the Emirati officers has sparked internal debate within the Gulf monarchy, according to leaked diplomatic cables. While the UAE has long denied direct involvement in the Sudan conflict, the revelation of its personnel on the ground is likely to raise questions within the United Nations Security Council, where sanctions on arms transfers to Sudan remain in place.
Regional analysts say the events in Port Sudan underscore a growing pattern of covert escalation between the UAE and Turkey, both of which are backing opposing sides in Sudan’s fragmented war.
“For two years, this conflict has been a proxy battlefield,” said Rana al-Fulan, a Middle East security researcher with the Crisis Watch Institute. “But what we are now witnessing is the breakdown of plausible deniability. The UAE’s fingerprints are all over this.”
The UAE has invested heavily in the RSF since the early days of the war, reportedly flying in arms via clandestine routes through Chad and Libya. Cargo manifests leaked earlier this year showed deliveries of Chinese-made CH-4 drones, thermobaric warheads, and encrypted battlefield communications systems.
Turkey, meanwhile, has supported the SAF with drone deliveries, satellite surveillance, and military advisors. Ankara views Sudan as a vital partner in its effort to counterbalance Gulf influence in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa.
The strike on Port Sudan may also carry symbolic weight. The city serves as the headquarters of the internationally recognized Sudanese government. Destroying military assets there was likely intended to send a clear message that even the government’s last stronghold is not beyond reach.
In Washington, State Department officials condemned the attack and called for an independent investigation into foreign interference in the Sudan conflict.
“Any external military involvement that fuels this devastating civil war is unacceptable,” said a spokesperson. “We continue to support efforts by African Union and IGAD mediators to reach a lasting ceasefire.”
The Sudanese military, in a televised statement, vowed retaliation. “Those who believe they can strike us with impunity will face the full force of our response,” said General Yassir al-Atta. “Our people will not be terrorized into submission.”
Meanwhile, humanitarian agencies warn that the strike has worsened an already dire situation. Port Sudan’s main power station was temporarily disabled, and fuel reserves for hospitals are reportedly running low. The United Nations has paused relief operations in the city until further notice.
As tensions between Abu Dhabi and Ankara continue to flare across multiple theaters—Libya, Syria, and now Sudan—diplomats fear that what began as a shadow war could quickly spiral into direct regional confrontation.
