The Sudanese Armed Forces made both claims in brief statements on Monday as fighting continues across the three Kordofan states and in Blue Nile. Neither has been independently verified, and the RSF has not commented.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) said its air defences shot down a "hostile" FH-95 drone south of Wad Banda in West Kordofan on the evening of Monday 2 November, Anadolu Agency reported. The army spokesperson's statement, carried by Sudan Nabaa, did not say who operated the aircraft or what it was doing, and gave no evidence. The RSF did not comment.
The FH-95 is a Chinese-made drone designed for reconnaissance, surveillance and electronic warfare and can stay airborne for more than 12 hours, Anadolu noted. Anadolu's Arabic service said fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had continued across North, West and South Kordofan since 25 October.
Defections claimed in Blue Nile
Also on Monday, the army's 4th Infantry Division said a group of RSF members had defected and surrendered to its forces in Damazin, the capital of Blue Nile state, Anadolu reported. The statement gave no figure. It named the group's commander as Jado Mohammed Hamed Shawqar and said he had provided information on RSF operations around Damazin, on what it called "Ethiopian support" for the RSF and on the participation of foreign fighters. Al Jazeera also reported the army statement.
The claims cannot be independently verified and were made a day after Port Sudan filed complaints against Ethiopia with the UN Security Council and the African Union over drone attacks. Information attributed to defectors held by the army cannot be tested independently. Ethiopia denies supporting the RSF.
Context
Both sides regularly announce defections from the other. Anadolu listed several earlier RSF departures announced by the army, including political adviser Fares Al-Nour and commanders Al-Nour Al-Qubba and Ali Rizkallah, and said groups of 21 commanders with 270 personnel and of four commanders with 318 members had joined the army in August. Last week senior RSF commander Siddiq Ander announced his defection in a video obtained by Al Jazeera.
Blue Nile has seen intense fighting in recent weeks between the army and forces aligned with Tasis, including the SPLM-North led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, the vice-chairman of Tasis's Presidential Council. The International Organization for Migration says nearly 120,000 people have been displaced in the state this year. In Kordofan, the army is trying to push west towards Darfur, while Tasis-aligned forces hold much of West Kordofan, including Babanusa and the Heglig oilfields.
Image: A family walks along a road beneath a power line outside Damazin, Blue Nile state, 2025. Waggas Mohamed Mahdi, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.