What happened

In a six-day battle from 15 to 21 April 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured Merowe Airport in Sudan's Northern State on the opening day of the country's civil war, before the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) recaptured it on 19 April and secured full control of Merowe by 21 April. The airport 'had been destroyed' by the time SAF regained control, according to wire reporting. Approximately 200 Egyptian soldiers conducting a joint military exercise at the site were taken captive by the RSF; 177 were repatriated on 19 April, while 27 sheltered at the Egyptian embassy in Khartoum. No specific combatant casualty figures were established in the reviewed reporting. This record, alongside the separately recorded Khartoum International Airport battle the same week, documents the opening phase of Sudan's civil war in the site's airbase/airport-strike coverage, added following the extension of the backfill window to three years.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.