Sudan's paramilitary groups conduct aerial assault on Port Sudan with drones.
Hostile drone strikes ignited chaos in Port Sudan once again, leaving the city reeling in chaos. On Tuesday, the city's airport and army base were targeted, marking the third consecutive day the Sudanese government's power center faced attacks.
The main power substation in Port Sudan took a hit, plunging the city into darkness. Teams were promptly dispatched to evaluate the damage, as stated by the Sudanese Electricity Distribution Company.
Yesterday, the country's primary fuel depot sustained damages, inciting a substantial blaze. Port Sudan, previously considered a sanctuary for the displaced fleeing the two-year conflict, had been spared from such atrocities until Sunday.
An AFP correspondent reported a series of loud explosions that set off plumes of smoke over the coastal city. The direction of the initial explosion pointed toward the port, while another emerged from a fuel depot south of the city.
A drone struck the civilian section of the Port Sudan airport, an airport official confirmed to AFP, following the military base's first attack two days prior. The source added that all flights were grounded at the war-torn nation's main international port of entry as a result.
Another drone targeted the main army base in the city center, according to an army source, with nearby witnesses reporting a nearby hotel was also hit. Given their proximity, both sites are situated near the residence of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, involved in a bitter war with his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the RSF, since April 2023.
A third drone attacked a fuel depot in the densely populated city center, where UN agencies, hundreds of thousands of displaced people, and the UN have relocated from Khartoum. Witnesses in the city's north reported anti-aircraft fire from a military base.
Experts assert that the RSF's increased use of drones following their loss of Khartoum is a strategic move to convey their reach and hamper the army's supply lines. The RSF has employed both homemade and advanced drones in their attacks.
Note: According to allegations by the Sudanese government, the UAE is supplying sophisticated drones to the RSF, causing concern and intensifying tensions in the region[1][3]. Additionally, previous evidence suggests that the UAE has been involved in supplying military equipment to the RSF[2][3].
Morbid sounds of explosions echoed across Port Sudan, where the UN Chief, Antonio Guterres, stated that paramilitary attacks reported on Monday posed a significant threat to civilian protection and humanitarian operations. Nearly all humanitarian aid entering Sudan pass through Port Sudan, where famine has already been declared, and 25 million people struggle with dire food insecurity.
Following the explosion at the airport, fires broke out in multiple buildings, a traveller informed AFP. The army source claimed that the strike had also targeted fuel depots at the airport. In recent weeks, the RSF has targeted civilian infrastructure across the north-east, resulting in widespread blackouts for millions of people.
Since the conflict started, the war has been tragic, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands, displacement of 13 million, and creating the world's largest hunger and displacement crises. It has also split the country in two, with the army controlling the center, north, and east, while the RSF commands nearly all of the vast Darfur region and parts of the south with their allies.
Read more: Sudan's RSF paramilitaries launch first attack on de facto capital
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
[1] See Sudan says UAE supplied drone used in deadly Port Sudan attack
[2] See UAE's suspected supply of weapons to Sudan's RSF highlighted
[3] See Sudan says UAE must stop providing drones to alleged war criminals
- The main power substation in Port Sudan, a critical infrastructure, was hit during the string of attacks, causing a city-wide blackout, as assessed by the Sudanese Electricity Distribution Company.
- Yesterday's attack on the fuel depot and subsequent fire incited concerns for humanitarian operations, given that nearly all aid entering Sudan passes through Port Sudan.
- Experts suggest that the increased use of drones by the Sudanese RSF, allegedly supplied by the UAE, is a strategic move to disable the army's supply lines and to assert their reach in the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese government and the RSF.
- The UN Chief, Antonio Guterres, denounced the paramilitary attacks in Port Sudan, stating that they pose a significant threat to civilian protection and humanitarian operations, given the city's importance as a critical hub for aid and the heightened tensions in the region linked to the alleged UAE's military equipment supply to the RSF.
