Drone attacks on power stations plunge Sudan’s cities into darkness

Résumé détaillé

Sudan's power stations are being targeted in waves of drone attacks, resulting in power outages.

Port Sudan, Sudan – Kamal Mohammed, 42, has spent years managing his diabetes. But prolonged power cuts in the al-Taqaddum neighbourhood of Port Sudan, where he lives, have made his life “catastrophic”, he says.

Kamal relies on regular insulin injections to manage his diabetes, but unstable electricity supplies make it difficult for him to keep track of the doses he needs or store the medication at the required temperature.

“I need an insulin dose every day, but sometimes I have to skip it when power cuts last so long that the refrigerator loses its cooling,” he said.

Kamal’s story reflects the massive disruptions the war between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which broke out in April 2023, has wrought on civilians across Sudan.

More than 14 million civilians have been displaced since 2023, including about 4.5 million to neighbouring countries, while more than 150,000 people are believed to have been killed.

The fighting between the SAF and RSF, two former military allies, has increasingly turned into a conflict in which civilians and civilian infrastructure are targets. Drone attacks killed more than 160 people in just a few days in western Sudan in October, while hospitals, displacement camps and markets have become targets.

Attacks on energy infrastructure have also severely affected healthcare infrastructure, aid groups and other services vital for civilian life.

The RSF has intensified attacks on power stations around Khartoum state over the past month, creating an energy crisis in the capital. There has been no clear schedule for the power cuts in Khartoum caused by the damage to energy infrastructure, but blackouts can last anywhere between six hours and a day.

Between October 20 and November 2, 2026, there were at least 18 attacks on electricity infrastructure across at least nine states, leading to declining power generation capacity and fuel shortages.

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