The explosions were heard near the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, a day after the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to agree to a humanitarian ceasefire.
Residents of Khartoum, which is controlled by the army, told AFP News Agency that they were awakened at night by the sound of drones and explosions.
The explosions appeared to have occurred near a military base and a power station in the early hours of Friday morning, residents said.
RSF has not responded to these accounts, but Sudan’s military government has said it will agree to a truce as long as the group does not “respect” the ceasefires.
Both sides are embroiled in a civil war that has killed at least 150,000 people and displaced 12 million others as of April 2023.
This week an unprecedented global hunger monitor confirmed that hunger conditions are spreading in conflict zones.
On Friday, drones were heard not only in Khartoum, but also 300km (186 miles) north of the city, in the military-controlled town of Atbara.
“The anti-aircraft defenses shot them down, but I saw the fires breaking apart and heard sounds in the east of the town,” a resident told AFP.
The day before, RSF has announced that it has agreed to a humanitarian truce Proposed by the US, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
The four countries passed the plan in September – and said it should be followed by a permanent ceasefire and a transition to civilian rule.
At the time the Sudanese government rejected “foreign interference” and any attempt to equate it with a “racist terrorist militia relying on foreign mercenaries”.
It is not clear if the proposal has been changed since then.
But during a press conference on Friday, Sudan’s ambassador to South Africa said it was too early for his country to agree to the plan.
“From our experience, many of us were trustworthy at the beginning of the war but every time there was no respect from [the RSF]”Osman Abufatima Adan Mohammed said.
“They use these ili ili to move to new areas and make moves against the government.”
The ambassador objected to the presence of the UAE in the ceasefire talks, repeating his government’s allegation that the Gulf country provided the RSF with weapons and foreign fighters.
UN experts say the accusations of such military support are credible, but the UAE denies all involvement in the RSF.
The RSF and military agreed to the ceasefire proposals beforehand, but nothing was collected.
This time, the RSF waited until it finally captured El-Flerher, a key city it had been fighting for 18 months, before it announced the truce ride.
Now that the paramilitary group has consolidated control of El-Flerher and, consequently, the vast western region of Darfur, it may have greater leverage in future negotiations.
But the RSF is also facing an international backlash against Widespread reports of mass killings and sexual violence During the fall of El-Fasher, it was denied.