Drone attacks hit 3 power stations in Sudan, trigger widespread outages

Drone attacks targeted three electricity substations in eastern and northern Sudan on Monday, causing power outages, local sources said.

The attacks brought to 16 the number of electricity stations targeted by drones across Sudan over the past week, including in Khartoum, Gezira, Sennar, Red Sea, Gedaref, Kassala and River Nile states.

​​​​​​​Drones struck the New Halfa and Aroma electricity substations early Monday, witnesses said.

The two attacks caused widespread electricity outages across Kassala state, according to local sources.

Videos circulated on social media showed fires at the New Halfa and Aroma stations, while Civil Defense teams were seen trying to extinguish the blaze at the Aroma facility.

Another drone strike hit the Al-Ghazali electricity substation, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Merowe in Northern State, witnesses said.

A powerful explosion was heard in the area before electricity was cut across Merowe, they added.

Images circulated on social media showed smoke rising from the Al-Ghazali station.

On Sunday, drones targeted the Abu Hamad electricity substation in River Nile state and the Al-Dabbah substation in Northern state.

Following the attacks, the Sudanese government said Sunday that it had filed complaints against Ethiopia with the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council, accusing Addis Ababa of involvement in attacks on civilian infrastructure and power stations in several Sudanese states.

There was no immediate comment from Ethiopia.

Sudanese authorities and rights groups have accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of targeting civilian infrastructure. The paramilitary group generally does not comment on such accusations and says it works to protect civilians.

​​​​​​​The Sudanese army and RSF have been fighting since April 2023 in a conflict triggered by disagreements over the integration of the paramilitary group, leaving tens of thousands dead and displacing around 13 million people amid a worsening humanitarian and hunger crisis.