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Drone attacks struck Port Sudan’s airport and key infrastructure on Tuesday, knocking out power and intensifying concerns over the safety of the government’s stronghold in eastern Sudan. It marked the third day in a row the seat of the army-aligned government has come under assault.
The strikes also targeted a central army base and a major fuel depot, escalating tensions in a city that had been considered a haven for hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the two-year conflict between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Loud explosions rang out across the Red Sea port city at dawn, with plumes of smoke seen rising from multiple directions, including near the port and the southern fuel depot, according to an AFP correspondent.
One of the drones hit “the civilian section of the Port Sudan airport,” an airport official told AFP. The facility’s military base had already been struck two days earlier in attacks the army blamed on the RSF, though the group has not taken responsibility for the drone strikes.
As a result of Tuesday’s attack, operations were suspended at Port Sudan’s airport — the only remaining hub in Sudan still handling international civilian flights.
Another drone reportedly hit the city’s central army base, with witnesses also reporting damage to a nearby major hotel. Both locations are close to the residence of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sudanese army and rival of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, since their split in April 2023 triggered civil war.
A separate drone strike hit a fuel depot in the densely populated southern section of the city. The area now houses United Nations agencies, humanitarian groups, and displaced people who fled the capital, Khartoum.
Later that morning, a drone struck Port Sudan’s main electricity substation, causing a total blackout, the national electricity company said.
AFP images captured thick black smoke rising above Port Sudan’s skyline. Residents in the northern part of the city reported hearing anti-aircraft fire from army installations. As of now, there have been no confirmed casualties.
The attacks have caused significant disruption. Long lines of vehicles stretched over a kilometre outside the few remaining operational fuel stations, as residents rushed to fill their tanks amid fears of further shortages.
The RSF, having lost significant territory including nearly all of Khartoum in March, has increasingly turned to drone warfare to strike at army-controlled areas.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the RSF’s attacks on Port Sudan as a “worrying development threatening the protection of civilians and humanitarian operations.”
Port Sudan has become the primary entry point for humanitarian aid into the country, where nearly 25 million people are facing extreme food insecurity and famine has already been declared.
Following Tuesday’s strike at the airport, “fires broke out in multiple buildings,” a traveller told AFP. An army source confirmed that the drone also “targeted fuel depots at the airport.”
In recent weeks, RSF drone attacks on civilian infrastructure in army-held territories have resulted in repeated blackouts, further straining daily life across eastern Sudan.
Since the conflict erupted, tens of thousands of people have been killed and around 13 million displaced, creating one of the world’s largest hunger and refugee crises.
The fighting has effectively split Sudan: the army controls the centre, north, and east, while the RSF dominates the west, especially Darfur, and parts of the south.
Military analysts say the RSF’s increasing reliance on drones reflects its attempt to demonstrate continued reach and to disrupt army supply lines. The group is believed to use both improvised and advanced drones, with the Sudanese army alleging that the United Arab Emirates has been a key supplier.
On the international legal front, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday dismissed a case brought by Sudan accusing the UAE of genocide through its support of the RSF. The court cited a jurisdictional issue, pointing to the UAE’s 2005 “reservation” on the UN Genocide Convention.
Sudan’s foreign ministry, aligned with the army, responded on Tuesday by stating it “respected” the ruling but emphasised that the decision “cannot legally be interpreted as a denial of the violations, nor does it represent any acquittal of the UAE from its involvement in genocide.” It vowed to continue pursuing accountability, stating: “The legal battle against those attacking Sudan is not over.”
Egypt, Sudan’s northern neighbour, also condemned the latest drone strikes, warning of “the danger of the latest escalation” and its potentially devastating impact on “ceasefire efforts, protection of civilians and boosting the delivery of humanitarian aid.”
