Explosions, huge fire in Sudanese city of Port Sudan

Drones believed to have been launched by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are said to have struck fuel depot causing huge fire.

Multiple explosions have been heard and a huge fire has erupted in Port Sudan, as the war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rocks the previously quiet city for a third day.

Dark plumes of smoke could be seen on Tuesday emerging from the vicinity of the country’s main maritime port following the attacks on the city, a major hub for the army and the place where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have sought refuge during the two-year conflict.

Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, said residents in the port city reported that attack drones launched by the RSF hit multiple locations, including a fuel depot, Port Sudan International Airport and a hotel.

“According to the residents, they believe that it was drone strikes by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – once again. They targeted a fuel depot in the city but also around the port and the air base,” Morgan said.

The hotel reported to have been hit is located near government buildings, including the Presidential Guest House, where the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, receives visitors and has his offices, Morgan noted.

“Civilians have been evacuated from the airport and the hotel”, Morgan said, adding that many of them are panicking as they try to “seek refuge in other parts of the city that have become a safe haven for hundreds of thousands” of people displaced by the war.

The conflict between Sudan’s army and the RSF has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, one likely to be worsened by these latest attacks on Port Sudan, where the United Nations and aid agencies, as well as army-aligned government ministries, have set up headquarters.

Attacks on the Red Sea coastal city, which began on Sunday, represent a sharp escalation in fighting, as Port Sudan had remained untouched by ground or air attacks until this week.

On Sunday, a military base in the city, near the country’s only functioning international airport, was struck by drones, which was followed by the targeting on Monday of fuel depots in the city. In both cases, military sources blamed the RSF.

The attacks came after a military source said the army had destroyed an aircraft and weapons depots in the RSF-controlled Nyala airport. The RSF did not claim responsibility for the attacks.

Morgan said that up until last week, Sudan’s army had “the upper hand”, and were in control of most of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum and large swathes of the country as its forces were pushing into the western regions, including Darfur and West Kordofan, which the RSF largely controls.

She said that the recent attacks by the RSF on logistical and supply hubs under the control of Sudan’s army have been an attempt to try to “balance the situation” and minimise the possibilities of attacks on the areas the RSF controls in western Sudan.

The attacks this week drew condemnation from neighbours Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as expressions of concern from the UN.

The war between the army and RSF began in April 2023, triggered by a dispute over a transition to civilian government.

The conflict has displaced more than 12 million people in Sudan and pushed half the population into acute hunger, according to the UN.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies