Blackout hits Sudan areas after drone attack on major power plant

A drone strike Friday targeted the Atbara power station in northern Sudan, cutting off electricity to the River Nile and Red Sea states and sparking a large fire, according to Sudan’s electricity company.

“The Atbara substation was attacked today by unmanned aerial vehicles, causing a power outage in the River Nile and Red Sea states,” the Sudan Electricity Company said in a statement.

Civil defense teams were working to extinguish the fire, and technical crews were assessing the damage before beginning repairs, it added.

This incident is the latest in a string of drone attacks on power infrastructure across northern Sudan. Recent strikes have hit key power facilities in Merowe, Dongola, Al-Dabba, and Atbara.

Sudanese authorities have repeatedly blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for the drone attacks, although the group has not commented on the latest incident.

Fighting between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army began on April 15, 2023 and has since led to thousands of deaths and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

More than 20,000 people have been killed so far, and 15 million others displaced, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US scholars, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.