Rapid Support Forces hit five power plants, leaving eastern Sudan in the dark

The Rapid Support Forces struck five power stations across eastern Sudan on Monday, cutting electricity to large parts of three states, a government official said. The coordinated drone attack targeted two stations in Al-Jazira, two in Gedaref, and one in White Nile state. All three regions are controlled by the Sudanese army, which has been fighting the RSF since April 2023.

A resident of Al-Fao in Gedaref, Babiker Youssef, reported that power went out in the early morning. He said his son’s insulin requires refrigeration and that he feared losing the medication if it spoiled. Youssef added that residents do not know when the electricity will return.

In Al-Junaid, Al-Jazira, farmer Abdelhafez Daafallah said the local power station had only been repaired three months earlier. He stated that residents had hoped irrigation pumps would finally work again, allowing them to return to farming after nearly four years. Daafallah said the new strike destroyed that progress.

The United Nations has warned that repeated attacks on power infrastructure threaten health services for millions of people facing the world's largest hunger crisis. In the first three weeks of October, drone strikes killed more than 300 people and injured hundreds, according to UN figures. The conflict has killed more than 200,000 people overall, aid workers estimate.

Most hospitals in Sudan have closed, and at least 8 million children are out of school. The war is currently fought primarily through drones, with both sides launching attacks across the country. The currency lost more than 25% of its value in recent weeks as inflation rises.

In Gedaref, grocer Ibrahim Mohammed said he was already experiencing hours-long power cuts before the strike. He said he now has chicken in his refrigerator and must either lose the stock or sell it at a loss. Past paramilitary drone strikes on power stations and hydroelectric dams have left electricity cut for days at a time.