Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by a brutal war between the regular armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), killing tens of thousands and displacing millions.
Sunday's strikes targeted the headquarters of the Sudanese army's 18th Division, along with fuel depots on the western bank of the Nile, east of the army-held city of Kosti in White Nile state, the official said.
Additional attacks hit the Kenana airbase and airport, located southeast of Kosti, while drones also struck the Um Dabakir power station, east of the city, the official added on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Eyewitnesses in Kosti, located some 320 kilometres (200 miles) south of Khartoum, reported extremely loud explosions during the attacks.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks and the extent of the damage remains unclear.
An army spokesman separately said that a number of paramilitary drones targeted early Saturday facilities in El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.
Army air defences intercepted the drones on El-Obeid, located about 400 kilometres (about 250 miles) southwest of Khartoum, the spokesman said, adding that no casualties were reported.
The army did not specify which facilities were targeted.
The attacks come days after a wave of RSF drone strikes targeted key infrastructure and army installations in and around Khartoum, including a power station, an oil refinery, a weapons factory and an airbase.
The RSF's Tasis administration, which has declared itself the governing authority in paramilitary-held areas, later claimed responsibility, describing them as "precise and successful air strikes".
Following the army's recapture of the capital in March, the RSF has increasingly used drones to attack army-controlled areas, often targeting critical infrastructure and causing widespread power outages affecting millions.
Efforts to broker a ceasefire between warring parties have so far failed.
On Saturday, Sudan's army-aligned government pushed back against a new peace proposal from four influential foreign powers -- the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
The proposal called for a humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire and a transition toward civilian rule.
The four nations also suggested that no warring party should be included in the post-war transition -- a proposal swiftly rejected by the government.
Sudan's current state institutions remain under army control.
The conflict has effectively split the country, with the army holding the north, east and centre, while the RSF dominates parts of the south and nearly all of the western Darfur region.
Sudan govt pushes back on peace plan, defends role in transition
Khartoum (AFP) Sept 13, 2025 -
Sudan's army-aligned government pushed back on Saturday against a new peace proposal put forward by four influential foreign powers, rejecting any suggestion that it be excluded from the country's post-war political transition.
On Friday, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt jointly called for a humanitarian truce in Sudan's more than two-year war, followed by a permanent ceasefire and a transition toward civilian rule -- but suggested that no warring party should be part of that transition.
Responding in a statement from the foreign ministry, Khartoum said it welcomed efforts to end the war, but would not accept "interventions that do not respect the sovereignty of the Sudanese state and its legitimate institutions, which are supported by the Sudanese people, and its right to defend its people and its land".
Sudan's institutions are currently under the control of the army, which has been at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023.
In May, the army formed a new civilian-led government "to complete the tasks of transition" and "cleanse all of Sudan" of the RSF.
In its statement, the foreign ministry said "the Sudanese people alone have the right to determine how they are governed through national consensus", as led by the transitional government.
The plan put forward by the four foreign powers, often referred to as the Quad, had proposed a three-month humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire and a nine-month transition toward a civilian-led government.
"Sudan's future governance is for the Sudanese people to decide through an inclusive and transparent transition process, not controlled by any warring party," Friday's statement read.
In its response, Sudan rejected "any attempt to equate it with a racist terrorist militia that recruits foreign mercenaries from across the world to destroy and erase the Sudanese identity" -- a clear reference to the RSF, which has been accused of receiving support from foreign fighters funded by the UAE. Abu Dhabi denies such allegations.
On Friday, the Quad also rejected any role in Sudan's transition for "violent extremist groups" linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, which ruled until 2019 and has reemerged during the conflict in support of the army.
That same day, the US imposed sanctions on Sudan's finance minister Gebreil Ibrahim, who leads an armed group fighting alongside the army in Darfur. Sanctions were also placed on the Baraa Ibn Malik Brigade, an Islamist militia likewise engaged in combat in support of the army.
In response, Ibrahim's Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) dismissed the sanctions on Saturday as "of no real value and represent an unjust action lacking legal foundation or objective justification".
The conflict in Sudan has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and created what the United Nations has called one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Despite repeated international efforts to broker a ceasefire, both sides have shown little willingness to compromise.
The army currently controls Sudan's east, north and centre, while the RSF holds parts of the south and nearly all of the western Darfur region -- where it recently declared a parallel government, fuelling fears of the country's fragmentation.
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