Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a coordinated drone attack on Monday against five power stations, causing mass power outages across the country’s east.
A government official said that the drones hit two power stations each in Al-Jazira and Gedaref states, and one in White Nile state, “resulting in power outages across large parts of these three states.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
All three states are controlled by the Sudanese army, which has been at war with its former ally, the RSF, since April 2023.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned that regular attacks on power stations threaten health and essential services for millions of people already facing hunger crisis.
Babiker Youssef, a resident of Al-Fao in Gedaref, said power there had also been out since the same time. “My son is diabetic, his insulin has to be stored in the fridge,” he said over the phone, scared he would not be able to replace the medication if it spoils.
“We have no idea when the power will come back,” he added.
Electricity has been cut for days at a time after past paramilitary drone strikes on power stations and hydroelectric dams, compounding the suffering of nearly 20 million people facing extreme hunger.
Losing Stock
Sudan’s war is currently being fought primarily via drones, with both sides launching sophisticated attacks from across the country, killing dozens of civilians at a time.
In the first three weeks of October alone, drone strikes killed over 300 people and injured hundreds more, according to a UN tally.
Africa’s third-largest country, home to an estimated 50 million people, has been ravaged by the war, which aid workers estimate has killed more than 200,000 people.
The majority of Sudan’s hospitals have been forced shut, at least eight million children are out of school and swathes of the country cannot access basic services.
“The electricity had just started to improve three months ago, the power station the militia had destroyed was just repaired and we had hope our irrigation pumps would finally start running again,” said Abdelhafez Daafallah, a 54-year-old farmer from Al-Junaid town in Al-Jazira.
“We hoped we would be able to finally get back to farming, but now the station has been hit,” he said, frustrated after nearly four years unable to till his land.
Farmers in Al-Jazira have struggled to rehabilitate and re-plant their land since the army recaptured the state from the RSF last year.
Further east in Gedaref, grocer Ibrahim Mohammed, 37, said he was “already facing power cuts for hours before the strike.”
“Now I have chicken in the fridge, we either lose our entire stock, or will be forced to sell it off at any price, which is still a loss,” he said.
Sudan is also grappling with unprecedented inflation and a currency in freefall, having lost over 25 percent of its value in recent weeks.
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