Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have launched drone attacks on five power stations, triggering widespread electricity outages across three army-controlled states and disrupting essential services for civilians already suffering from a prolonged war. A government official told AFP that two power stations were hit in each of Al-Jazira and Gedaref states, while another was targeted in White Nile state. The strikes caused power cuts across large areas, with residents reporting outages beginning around 2 a.m. on Monday.
The attacks have raised fresh concerns about access to healthcare, food storage and agricultural production. Babiker Youssef, a resident of Al-Fao in Gedaref, said he feared losing his diabetic son’s insulin if it could not be kept refrigerated. Farmers in Al-Jazira also face renewed uncertainty after damage to electricity infrastructure threatened irrigation systems needed to restore agricultural production. Farmer Abdelhafez Daafallah said residents had hoped to resume farming after previously damaged facilities were repaired. In Gedaref, grocer Ibrahim Mohammed said the blackout threatened his refrigerated food supplies, including chicken, leaving him at risk of significant financial losses.
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict between the army and the RSF since April 2023. Both sides have increasingly relied on drone warfare, with attacks damaging infrastructure and causing civilian casualties. The United Nations has warned that repeated strikes on power facilities threaten essential services for millions of people. The conflict has also devastated healthcare and education, displaced millions and fueled a severe hunger crisis. With electricity outages compounding economic hardship and disrupting farming and commerce, the latest attacks add to the mounting challenges facing civilians across Sudan.
