Paramilitary drone strikes hit five power stations across Sudan on Monday. A government official said the coordinated attacks caused widespread electricity outages in the east of the country.
The unmanned aerial vehicles targeted two facilities in Al-Jazira state, two in Gedaref state, and one in White Nile state. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official confirmed the strikes cut power across large parts of all three regions.
All three states are under the control of the Sudanese army. The military has fought a devastating war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023.
An agency correspondent in Al-Jazira state reported that the electricity grid failed at two in the morning. Residents in other affected areas confirmed the sudden loss of power at the same hour.
Babiker Youssef lives in Al-Fao within Gedaref state. He told reporters over the phone that the blackout began in the early hours of Monday and left his family without answers.
"My son is diabetic, his insulin has to be stored in the fridge," Youssef said. He fears he will not be able to replace the medication if it spoils during the outage. "We have no idea when the power will come back," he added.
Previous paramilitary drone attacks on power stations and hydroelectric dams have plunged regions into darkness for days at a time. The United Nations has repeatedly warned that these regular strikes threaten essential health services for millions of people.
The latest infrastructure attacks add to the suffering in a nation where nearly 20 million people face extreme hunger. The United Nations describes the situation as the world’s largest hunger crisis.
