Drone strike plunges Sudan major cities into darkness as civil war rages

Major cities crossed Sudan, including the capital, Khartoum, and coastal metropolis Port Sudan, person been plunged into acheronian aft drone strikes deed a cardinal powerfulness works successful the country’s east.

Flames and fume roseate from the installation successful Atbara, River Nile authorities connected Thursday, which is controlled by the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and nether onslaught by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) successful the ongoing civilian warfare that has ripped the federation apart.

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Footage circulating connected societal media showing the powerfulness presumption ablaze has been verified by Al Jazeera.

Two civilian defence members were killed, powerfulness works officials said, portion trying to extinguish the occurrence that erupted aft the archetypal strike, adding that rescue workers were injured erstwhile a 2nd drone deed arsenic they battled the flames.

Al Jazeera analogous Mohamed Vall successful Port Sudan reported that residents initially thought a regular powerfulness chopped had occurred, lone to larn it was linked to incidents successful Atbara, astir 320km (about 230 miles) northbound of Khartoum.

He added that specified strikes person go a predominant occurrence successful Sudan’s war.

“We person seen this galore times during the during this existent twelvemonth and the past year. The RSF drones are going thousands of kilometres crossed Sudan due to the fact that they deliberation it is simply a mode to weaken the authorities and to beryllium to the colonisation they can’t beryllium protected by this subject government,” Vall said.

The onslaught marks the latest escalation successful a devastating drone run that has killed astatine slightest 104 civilians crossed Sudan’s Kordofan portion since aboriginal December. The deadliest onslaught deed a kindergarten and infirmary successful Kalogi, South Kordofan, wherever 89 radical died, including 43 children and 8 women.

Six Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed erstwhile drones struck their basal successful Kadugli connected December 13, prompting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to pass that targeting peacekeepers “may represent warfare crimes nether planetary law”.

A time later, the Dilling Military Hospital came nether fire, sidesplitting astatine slightest six radical and wounding 12, galore of them aesculapian staff.

The usage of drones has been extended by some the SAF and RSF successful caller months.

According to the US-based deliberation vessel Africa Center for Strategic Studies, 484 drone strikes occurred crossed 13 African countries successful 2024, with Sudan accounting for 264 of them, much than fractional the continental total. By March 2025, the strength had surged further, with the SAF claiming it changeable down much than 100 drones successful conscionable 10 days.

Sexual unit ‘escalating alarmingly’

Sudan plunged into chaos successful April 2023 erstwhile a powerfulness conflict betwixt the SAF and RSF exploded into unfastened fighting. The warfare has killed much than 100,000 people, according to immoderate estimates, but the existent toll remains unclear.

The struggle has created what the UN calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with much than 14 cardinal radical displaced and astatine slightest 30 cardinal needing captious assistance. More than 40,000 radical person fled North Kordofan alone, portion civilians stay trapped successful besieged cities.

For the 3rd consecutive year, Sudan topped the International Rescue Committee’s Emergency Watchlist released connected Tuesday, arsenic planetary humanitarian backing has shrunk by 50 percent. A Thomson Reuters Foundation canvass of 22 assistance agencies named Sudan the world’s astir neglected situation of 2025.

WHO main Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revealed connected Wednesday that much than 1,600 radical person been killed successful 65 attacks connected aesculapian facilities crossed Sudan this year. “Every onslaught deprives much radical from wellness services and medicines,” helium said.

Seif Magango, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights office, besides told Al Jazeera connected Wednesday that intersexual unit was besides “escalating alarmingly”, with women bearing the conflict’s top cost. Women look “gang rape portion simultaneously trying to fly from sidesplitting and bombs,” helium said, describing conditions arsenic peculiarly horrific successful el-Fasher.

The heaviest warring has present shifted from Darfur to the country’s cardinal regions wherever the state is bisected betwixt territory controlled by the RSF and SAF.

A report released connected Tuesday by Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab recovered that RSF forces engaged successful a “systematic multi-week run to destruct evidence” of wide killings successful el-Fasher done burial, burning and removal of quality remains aft the metropolis fell successful October.