The deployment of a powerful Turkish-made combat drone to a remote Egyptian airstrip near Sudan’s border signals a significant escalation in Sudan’s civil war and suggests that Egypt is being drawn more directly into the conflict, according to more than a dozen officials and regional experts cited by Reuters.
Egypt, which shares a more than 1,200-kilometre border with Sudan and depends on the Nile River for its water security, has long provided strong political backing to Sudan’s military in its nearly three-year war against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group. Until recently, however, Cairo largely avoided overt military intervention in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and pushed large parts of Sudan into famine.
That stance began to shift after the RSF made major territorial gains in western Sudan, particularly in Darfur. According to regional analysts and diplomats briefed by Egyptian officials, the RSF first seized a strategic border triangle linking Egypt, Sudan and Libya in June, then captured al-Fashir, the Sudanese military’s last stronghold in Darfur, in October. The fall of al-Fashir marked a turning point in Cairo’s calculus, bringing the fighting closer to Egypt’s borders and threatening what officials described as core national security interests.
In December, Egypt’s presidency publicly warned that Sudan’s security was inseparable from its own and said Cairo would not tolerate its “red lines” being crossed. Those red lines included preserving Sudan’s territorial integrity and preventing the emergence of parallel authorities that could fracture the country. Two Egyptian security officials told Reuters that military equipment has been supplied to two southern airports over the past several months to secure the border and conduct strikes in defence of national security, though they declined to give operational details.
Satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters appears to show a Bayraktar Akinci unmanned combat aerial vehicle at the East Oweinat airstrip in southern Egypt on multiple dates between September and January. Military experts who examined the images identified the aircraft as an Akinci based on its distinctive design. The New York Times has also published imagery of Akincis at the same base, reporting that they were used for strikes inside Sudan.
The Akinci, produced by Turkish defence firm Baykar, is among the most advanced combat drones in operation, capable of long-endurance flights at high altitude while carrying a broad array of munitions. Neither Egypt’s Foreign Ministry nor its State Information Service responded to Reuters’ questions about operations at East Oweinat or activities in Sudan, and Sudan’s military also declined to comment.
Egypt’s tougher posture adds a potentially explosive new dimension to a war that has already drawn in numerous foreign actors. Cairo is part of a so-called diplomatic “Quad” with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States that has sought unsuccessfully to broker a ceasefire. The conflict itself erupted in April 2023 after Sudan’s army and the RSF fell out over plans to integrate their forces during a transition to civilian rule.
U.N. experts have accused the UAE of supplying weapons to the RSF, an allegation Abu Dhabi denies. Sudan’s military has deployed Turkish and Iranian drones and received political backing from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has accused Egypt of carrying out airstrikes against his forces since at least October 2024, claims Cairo previously rejected. The RSF did not respond to questions from Reuters.
According to Reuters, a London-based Arab news outlet reported that Egypt carried out an airstrike on an RSF convoy in the border triangle area on January 9, citing an Egyptian military official. A diplomat in Cairo briefed by Egyptian authorities said the strike was launched from an airbase in southern Egypt, though Reuters could not independently verify the accounts.
Satellite images also show that the East Oweinat airstrip has undergone significant renovations in recent months, including runway resurfacing, possible widening and the construction of new access roads and structures. Defence experts told Reuters that the presence of support equipment around the drones and their movement between different locations suggest they are operational rather than merely stored.
The RSF claims its territory has been repeatedly targeted by Akinci drones and says it has shot down at least seven since June, assertions Reuters could not verify. Videos circulating on social media in January purport to show the wreckage of a downed Akinci near Nyala, the RSF’s main stronghold in Darfur. Experts told Reuters the debris appeared consistent with the drone, but its origin and operator could not be confirmed.
Turkey’s role has also come into sharper focus. Flight tracking data reviewed by Reuters show multiple cargo flights from Turkey to East Oweinat since September, including Turkish Air Force-operated aircraft departing from Tekirdag, where Akincis are tested. Turkish officials have previously confirmed drone sales to Egypt following the normalization of relations between the two countries, though details remain undisclosed.
Analysts say Egypt’s actions reflect a broader strategic shift. Experts quoted by Reuters argue that Cairo’s previous balancing act collapsed after the fall of al-Fashir, when RSF supply routes through Libya proved decisive and atrocities were reported in the city. Egypt’s leadership, they say, has become increasingly willing to take direct action despite the risk of deeper entanglement in Sudan’s war.
With regional rivalries sharpening and diplomatic efforts stalled, Egypt’s growing military footprint near Sudan’s border underscores how the conflict is expanding beyond Sudan’s borders, raising fears that one of Africa’s most devastating wars could draw in even more powerful neighbours.
