Qualla: Rapid Support Forces occupation of the Khartoum International Airport https://qualla.com/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:29 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/d/z/0/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Rapid Support Forces occupation of the Khartoum International Airport https://qualla.com/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport Rapid Support Forces occupation of the Khartoum International Airport: Introduction https://qualla.com/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport/ Photo credit MartinKassemJ120, CC0. On the morning of April 15, 2023, Saudi Airlines Flight 462 was on the Khartoum International Airport apron, preparing for takeoff to Riyadh, when Rapid Support Forces fighters began firing on the terminal. The passengers and crew were rushed off the aircraft and taken to the Saudi embassy across the city. Most of them lived. The aircraft did not. Within hours, the RSF had seized the entire airport, turning Sudan's main aviation hub into the opening battlefield of a war that had, until that moment, existed only as rumor and strained communiques. For the next 710 days, the airport belonged to the paramilitaries, and from it the war spread outward across Khartoum.

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Image: MartinKassemJ120 | CC0

]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/d/z/0/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport-wp/sdz0-rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-in-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Rapid Support Forces occupation of the Khartoum International Airport: The First Attack https://qualla.com/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport/ Photo credit Hind Mekki El Mardi, CC BY-SA 4.0. The airport, unusual for being embedded in the middle of a major capital city rather than safely isolated on its outskirts, had long been identified as strategically vital. It handled virtually all international traffic in and out of Sudan. When the RSF and the Sudanese Armed For...

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Image: Hind Mekki El Mardi | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/d/z/0/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport-wp/sdz0-rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-in-the-first-attack.mp3 0:06 2 full Rapid Support Forces occupation of the Khartoum International Airport: What Was Destroyed https://qualla.com/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport/ Photo credit Hind Mekki El Mardi, CC BY-SA 4.0. By April 21, a week into the war, the destroyed or damaged aircraft in Khartoum included three Ilyushin Il-76Ms, two Antonov An-74s, and one An-12. The Sudan Airways fleet was decimated. Turkish evacuation flights from Wadi Seidna Air Base came under fire trying to rescue foreign...

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Image: Hind Mekki El Mardi | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/d/z/0/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport-wp/sdz0-rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-in-what-was-destroyed.mp3 0:06 3 full Rapid Support Forces occupation of the Khartoum International Airport: The Long Occupation https://qualla.com/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport/ Photo credit Hind Mekki El Mardi, CC BY-SA 4.0. For almost two years, the RSF held Khartoum International. They did so in conditions of continuous fighting. On August 26, 2023, a major explosion near the airport damaged property across Khartoum, caused, according to the Sudanese Armed Forces, by a fire at an aviation fuel depo...

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Image: Hind Mekki El Mardi | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/d/z/0/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport-wp/sdz0-rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-in-the-long-occupation.mp3 0:06 4 full Rapid Support Forces occupation of the Khartoum International Airport: Jabal Awliya and the Retreat https://qualla.com/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport/ Photo credit Hind Mekki El Mardi, CC BY-SA 4.0. By early 2025 the military balance had shifted. The Sudanese Armed Forces, reinforced and rearmed, pushed steadily closer to Khartoum. On March 25, 2025, SAF forces approached Jabal Awliya, south of Khartoum, which was the RSF's last point of connection with its supply lines into...

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Image: Hind Mekki El Mardi | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/d/z/0/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport-wp/sdz0-rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-in-jabal-awliya-and-the-retreat.mp3 0:06 5 full Rapid Support Forces occupation of the Khartoum International Airport: Flight Context https://qualla.com/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport/ Photo credit Hind Mekki El Mardi, CC BY-SA 4.0. Khartoum International Airport (HSSS) is located at 15.59°N, 32.55°E, embedded in central-eastern Khartoum, Sudan. Elevation approximately 380 meters (1,260 feet). The airport suffered extensive damage during the 2023-2025 RSF occupation and is gradually recovering operational capacity. Recommended viewing altitude: 3,500-6,000 feet for the urban-embedded runway layout. Alternate airports include Wadi Seidna Air Base (HSSW) north of Omdurman and Merowe Airport (HSMN) some 350 km to the north. The runway orientation is approximately 18/36. Expect hot desert conditions (temperatures routinely exceed 40°C April-June), frequent haboobs (dust storms) reducing visibility, and limited ground infrastructure during ongoing rebuilding.

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Image: Hind Mekki El Mardi | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/d/z/0/rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-international-airport-wp/sdz0-rapid-support-forces-occupation-of-the-khartoum-in-what-flight-means-in-sudan.mp3 0:06 6 full