Drone Hits Darken Sudan East

Eastern Sudan has fallen into darkness after paramilitary forces struck five power stations across three states. A government official speaking anonymously confirmed that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) executed a coordinated drone attack. Two facilities in each of Al-Jazira and Gedaref states were hit, with a fifth target struck in White Nile state. All three states are currently under the control of the Sudanese army, which has fought the RSF since April 2023.

The conflict began in April 2023 when the army and its former ally, the RSF, turned on each other. The war has increasingly relied on aerial combat. According to United Nations data, drone strikes in the first three weeks of October killed more than 300 people and wounded hundreds. Both sides have launched sophisticated attacks that have resulted in mass civilian casualties across the country.

The loss of power has created immediate health and economic risks for residents. Babiker Youssef, a resident of Al-Fao in Gedaref, reported that the electricity has been off since early that morning. His son is diabetic and requires insulin kept in a refrigerator. Youssef stated by phone that he feared the medication would spoil, saying, "We have no idea when the power will come back." Ibrahim Mohammed, a 37-year-old grocer in Gedaref, said he had already dealt with long outages before the strikes. He must now choose between losing his entire chicken stock or selling it at a loss.

Agricultural activities have also stalled. Abdelhafez Daafallah, a 54-year-old farmer in Al-Junaid, Al-Jazira, said conditions had only started to improve three months ago when a destroyed power station was repaired. He had hoped to use irrigation pumps to return to farming after nearly four years away. Farmers in Al-Jazira have struggled to replant fields since the army retook the state from the RSF last year.

The United Nations has warned that frequent attacks on power infrastructure endanger the health of millions. Sudan is currently facing the world's largest hunger crisis. Aid workers estimate the conflict has killed more than 200,000 people. Most hospitals have shut down, at least 8 million children are out of school, and large areas lack basic services. The economy is under strain, with the currency losing more than 25% of its value in recent weeks. Sudan is home to an estimated 50 million people.

The blackouts affect large parts of all three targeted states. Past strikes on power stations and hydroelectric dams have left communities without electricity for days. The government official noted that the strikes caused outages across the army-held regions. Residents are currently waiting for repairs while managing the immediate consequences of the energy loss.