Sudan Electricity Holding Company says drone attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted five power substations, causing extensive damage and a complete blackout across the country’s southeast.
The strikes targeted substations in Singa, Al-Hawata, Al-Faw, Mashkur and Al-Junaid in central and southeastern Sudan, the company said in a statement on Monday.
“The attacks caused significant damage to components of the facilities and completely cut electricity from the southeastern grid, affecting Sennar, Gedaref, White Nile and Gezira states,” said the statement cited by local media.
It warned that the damage also threatened the stability of Sudan’s national electricity grid.
“Engineering and technical teams were dispatched to the affected substations to assess the damage and begin repairs aimed at restoring electricity and stabilising the grid as soon as possible,” it added.
Fuel depots threatened
The daily Sudan Tribune said an RSF drone struck the Al-Junaid power substation in eastern Gezira state early Monday, knocking it out of service and cutting electricity to the area.
The outlet said RSF drones also attempted to strike strategic fuel depots in Umm Aliyla in eastern Gezira without causing damage. The facility had been targeted in September, when a drone attack sparked a fire at one of its storage units.
In Sennar, the state government said an RSF drone struck the Singa power substation, causing material damage and injuring members of the facility’s guard team.
Drones also targeted the Al-Faw and Al-Hawata substations in Gedaref state, cutting electricity supplies, while another drone struck the Mashkur substation in White Nile state, causing a local power outage.
The RSF has intensified drone attacks in recent days against fuel storage facilities and electricity infrastructure in North Kordofan, Gedaref, Gezira and White Nile states amid escalating fighting with the Sudanese Army.
The army and the RSF have been at war since April 2023 following disputes over integrating the paramilitary group into the military. The conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced around 13 million people, fueling one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
