Explosions Rock Sudan’s Capital, Port Sudan

By: Olusegun Ajileye

Port Sudan, Sudan – Explosions and fires on Tuesday has rocked Sudan’s wartime capital, Port Sudan, due to an alleged drone assault that has torched the country’s biggest fuel depots and damaged its primary gateway for humanitarian aid in a major escalation.

According to an eye witness, the strikes included an unmanned aerial vehicle attack by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Port Sudan facilities, targeting the container terminal.

British maritime security firm, Ambrey reported that strikes were the most intense since the attack on Port Sudan began on Sunday, in a conflict in which drones have played an increasing role, helping army advances earlier this year.

Another witness in the city said, strikes also hit an electricity substation and a hotel near the presidential residence.

The destruction of fuel facilities and damage to the airport and port risk intensifying Sudan’s humanitarian crisis, which the U.N. calls the world’s worst, by throttling aid deliveries by road and hitting power output and cooking gas supplies.

Port Sudan had enjoyed relative calm since the civil war between the army and the RSF suddenly erupted in April 2023.

The Red Sea city became the base for the army-aligned government after the RSF swept through much of the capital, Khartoum, at the start of the conflict.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced people have also sought refuge in the city, where U.N. officials, diplomats and agencies have also set up headquarters, making it the main base for aid operations.

Inside Port Sudan, the attack on the electricity substation led to a power outage across the city while army units deployed around public buildings, the witness said.

Military sources have blamed the paramilitary RSF for the attacks on Port Sudan since Sunday, though the group has not yet claimed any responsibility for the strikes.

The attacks came after a military source said the army had destroyed an aircraft and weapons depots in the RSF-controlled Nyala airport in Darfur, the main stronghold of the paramilitary group.

Sudan’s conflict has drawn in regional powers seeking to build influence in a country strategically positioned along much of the Red Sea coast and with borders opening onto North African, Central African and Horn of Africa countries.

The attacks have drawn condemnation from neighboring Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as expressions of concern from the United Nations.