Drone strikes have severely damaged a major power station in Port Sudan, resulting in a complete power outage across the city, according to Sudan’s national electricity provider.
The attacks, which mark the third consecutive day of strikes by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), also targeted critical infrastructure near Port Sudan’s main international airport. Witnesses reported explosions and fires, and thick black smoke was seen rising at dawn over the city, which had previously been considered a safe haven amidst Sudan’s ongoing civil war.
Flights were cancelled following hits on the airport and a nearby hotel located close to the current presidential palace. A journalist on the ground, Cristina Karrer, told the BBC that the city resembled a “quite apocalyptic” scene, describing massive fires and multiple loud explosions.
Sudan’s electricity company said damage to a substation has disrupted not only power but also water supply and healthcare services. Eyewitnesses told AFP that one drone struck the civilian section of the airport, another hit the central army base, and a third struck a fuel depot in the densely populated city centre, an area now home to UN officials, diplomats, and government staff who relocated from the capital, Khartoum.
A hotel near the residence of army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was also hit. Mariam Atta, a staff member at a children’s hospital, recalled waking up to the sound of explosions: “We had never witnessed an attack before. The smoke and fire were overwhelming.” She expressed fear that the attacks would continue, saying, “The fear is constant.”
The UN at the moment has suspended aid flights to Port Sudan, and also stated that other humanitarian operations remain ongoing, following the strikes. Farhan Haq, the UN deputy spokesperson confirmed that none of the UN’s facilities were damaged.
The government said the military is working to secure the affected fuel depots. “The will of the Sudanese people will remain unbreakable,” said government spokesman Khaled Al-Aiser.
The RSF has not made any comment on the strikes, which the military blames on them. But rather, the African Union condemned the attack, calling it a “dangerous escalation” and warning of the threat it poses to civilians, humanitarian efforts, and regional stability.
Port Sudan had until now avoided direct bombardment and was seen as a relatively safe zone in the two-year conflict between Sudan’s army and the RSF, a war that has killed thousands, displaced millions, and triggered one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. Both sides have been accused of committing war crimes.
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