Huge Fuel Explosion Rocks Sudan-Chad Border Crossing
Suspected RSF fuel supplies destroyed in West Darfur
Enormous quantities of fuel exploded Friday, December 5, at a border crossing in Darfur controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as a result of a suspected drone attack by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
Videos of the scene, filmed by bystanders on both sides of the border, show thick black smoke and secondary explosions characteristic of burning diesel. The intense blaze took place in a populated area, the border town of Adikong, opposite the Chadian city Adré. RSF-affiliated civilian authorities reported significant damage to the Adikong market as well as civilian casualties.
In case you missed it…
The Sudanese military did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack. But SAF supporters on social media quickly hailed it as a major success that could hinder RSF operations. The paramilitary force, whose 2023 mutiny ignited the current war, depends heavily on fuel smuggled from Libya and Chad. That supply chain enables the RSF to wage a fast-moving war of maneuver, using thousands of pickup trucks adapted as troop carriers or fitted with heavy machine guns, autocannons, or other mounted weapons.
SAF previously announced an operation at the Libyan border targeting RSF fuel supplies. A recent investigation revealed that Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) is a critical conduit for the supply of fuel to the RSF. The LNA, RSF, and the Chadian government all have close ties to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is waging a shadow war against the Sudanese military.
The Darfur Regional Government, which is part of the RSF-led Government of Peace and Unity, claimed that the fires took place at a market, while making no mention of RSF fuel convoys—the likely target of the attack.
“The Darfur Regional Government strongly condemns the aerial bombardment carried out by a drone affiliated with the Sudanese Army on the weekly market in the Adikong area in West Darfur State… The Darfur Regional Government affirms that this bombardment aims to obstruct the delivery of vital humanitarian aid through the Adre border crossing, thereby exacerbating the suffering of the citizens in the region who are living in difficult conditions due to the ongoing conflict.
“The regional government holds the Port Sudan government [SAF] fully responsible for this aerial aggression…”
If the Sudanese military did carry out the attack, the most plausible platform would be a Bayraktar Akıncı drone. The Akıncı, manufactured in Türkiye, has the endurance and range needed for a deep strike of this distance. SAF could have launched such an aircraft from El Obeid or, alternatively, from territory in northwest Darfur held by the allied Joint Force.
Attack on Truck Carrying Food Aid
The World Food Programme (WFP) condemned an attack on one of its trucks near the town of Hamra El Sheikh in North Darfur, on the night of December 4. The truck was part of a larger convoy of 39 trucks on route with food assistance to support hungry families who fled to Tawilah, North Darfur.
The United Nations agency explained in a statement, “The truck was under repair due to mechanical problems when it was attacked, destroying the truck’s cabin and seriously injuring the driver, who was immediately evacuated to hospital for urgent treatment.”
WFP said the convoy was more than halfway through its 1000-kilometer journey when the incident happened. The convoy’s route had been cleared for use by all parties to the conflict. “The route is the main supply lifeline for WFP to reach the most vulnerable people in Darfur – with close to 100 aid trucks every month using the same roads to deliver critical food assistance.
“This latest incident is the sixth serious attack on WFP trucks, assets, and facilities in Sudan in the past year – with eight humanitarians and partners killed, and many more injured. This is unacceptable.”
WFP supports 700,000 people in Tawilah with lifesaving food aid. The town shelters vast numbers of people who escaped fighting in other areas of Darfur, including the famine-affected city of El Fasher and Zamzam Camp.
News in Brief
Arab leaders meeting at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Bahrain issued a final communiqué voicing support for “political efforts to achieve a ceasefire and a political transition in Sudan through the establishment of an independent civilian government, in a manner that fulfills the aspirations of the Sudanese people for growth, stability, and peace.”
The Gulf Cooperation Council backed a Saudi-U.S. push for peace, which so far has yielded no substantial results. The statement “commended the efforts of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in supporting peace efforts in Sudan, including during His Highness’s visit to Washington in November 2025.”
Sudan’s army withdrew from Keika al-Khayl, an outpost approximately 50 km north of Kadugli, after which the RSF entered the area, according to videos filmed by combatants. SAF’s garrison in Kadugli is the largest and best defended in South Kordofan State and is not under immediate threat, but outposts in smaller outlying areas are more vulnerable.
A drone operated by the RSF struck Tegmala, a village between Abu Jubeiha and Rashad in eastern South Kordofan. The attack is part of a pattern of increasing RSF drone strikes carried out apparently from SPLM-N territory in the Nuba Mountains.
SPLM-N retook control of rural areas of Abbasiya Locality in South Kordofan State, following SAF incursions into the area from November 29 to December 2, including the villages of Moreib, Mabsut, Gardud Niama, Tabsa, Jubeilat Nasser, and others. SPLM-N accused SAF of various human rights abuses during its incursion into the area, including burning homes, mass detention of civilians, and killing a local tribal leader.
Women living through Sudan’s war face significant risks during pregnancy. This report by Ayin Network sheds light on their plight. The nation’s healthcare network is severely damaged by the conflict.