Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces carried out a large scale drone attack in the country's east on Thursday, a military source told AFP, with strikes hitting a key power station and causing outages in major cities.
Since April 2023, Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions more and devastated infrastructure.
"We've been without power since 2:00 am (0000 GMT)," Abdel Rahim al-Amin, an official in Port Sudan, told AFP. "We hope it will be restored soon."
The attacks on Thursday "led to power outages in several states," the national electricity company stated.
In recent months the RSF has been accused of launching drone attacks on vast areas controlled by the army, targeting civilian infrastructure and causing power outages affecting millions of people.
"At dawn this morning, the militia launched 35 drones against the cities of Atbara, Al-Damer and Berber in River Nile State, targeting civilian infrastructure," a military source told AFP on condition of anonymity, attributing the strikes to the RSF.
Strikes on Thursday in government-controlled Atbara in River Nile State targeted transformers at the Al-Muqrin power station, the national electricity company said, after witnesses reported flames and smoke were seen rising in the city.
An official at the power plant told AFP an initial strike targeted the plant in Atbara overnight and a second strike hit rescue workers, killing two and leaving another person injured.
The River Nile State government in a statement confirmed two rescue workers were killed, saying that they were killed "by militias who have no respect for human life.".
The damaged power station is a strategic hub in the Sudanese electricity grid, receiving power generated by the Merowe Dam -- the country's largest source of hydroelectric energy -- before its redistribution to other parts of the country.
According to witnesses, power outages have spread to several states, including those along the Nile and the Red Sea -- where Port Sudan, the interim seat of the pro-military government, is located.
- Global outcry -
The fire at the power station was yet to be brought under control as of Thursday morning, according to the Sudan Electricity Company.
The RSF has not commented on the incident, though it has been using long-range drones to strike army-held areas since it lost control of the capital.
Last month explosions were heard in Atbara, which sits around 300 kilometres (185 miles) north of Khartoum.
The war in Sudan has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN.
It prompted global outcry in October, as reports of mass atrocities emerged after the RSF seized the city of El-Fasher -- the army's last stronghold in the western Darfur region -- following a bitter 18-month siege.
The United Nations said on Thursday that more than 1,000 civilians were killed during three days of attacks by the RSF on the Zamzam displacement camp in April, demanding a war crimes investigation.
Sudan's army chief and de-facto leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was expected in Cairo on Thursday "to discuss ways to resolve the Sudanese crisis," the spokesman for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said.
Hopes for a breakthrough in talks on Sudan's war were rekindled last month when US President Donald Trump said he would help end the conflict after Prince Mohammed urged him to intervene during a visit to Washington.
Saudi Arabia is a member of the so-called Quad of four mediating nations that has intensified efforts for peace in Sudan in recent months.
Along with the United States, the grouping also includes Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, two key Washington allies seen to wield the most influence over the warring sides.
Before the power outages on Thursday, Khartoum had seen relative calm since the regular army regained control this year, even as the RSF continues to mount attacks in several regions.
