Multiple explosions have shaken Port Sudan as heavy drone strikes and ensuing fires hit critical infrastructure in the city, marking a sharp escalation in the ongoing war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The Red Sea coastal city, previously seen as a safe haven in the two-year conflict, is now under attack for a third consecutive day.
Dark plumes of smoke rose above the area on Tuesday following a series of drone strikes reportedly launched by the RSF. The attacks targeted several strategic sites, including a fuel depot, Port Sudan International Airport, and a hotel located near key government buildings.
Reporting from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan said residents in Port Sudan believe the strikes were carried out by RSF drones.
“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 reported.
The hotel reportedly hit lies close to government buildings, including the Presidential Guest House, where the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, maintains offices and receives official visitors.
“Civilians have been evacuated from the airport and the hotel,” Morgan said, noting that many displaced persons are now seeking refuge in other parts of Port Sudan, which had previously offered relative safety from the conflict. “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 displaced people.
The attacks mark the first direct strikes on Port Sudan, a critical hub for the army and a refuge for both civilians and the government’s administrative operations. The United Nations and several aid organisations had also relocated to Port Sudan, using it as a base for humanitarian operations.
Drone strikes began on Sunday, hitting a military base near the city’s international airport — Sudan’s only functioning airport. On Monday, additional strikes targeted fuel depots. In both cases, military sources pointed fingers at the RSF, though the group has not officially claimed responsibility.
According to a military source, the recent escalation may be a response to an earlier army assault on RSF positions, including the destruction of aircraft and weapons depots at Nyala airport, which remains under RSF control.
Morgan noted that the army, up until last week, held the upper hand in the conflict, maintaining control over much of the capital and pushing into western regions such as Darfur and West Kordofan, areas predominantly held by the RSF.
She explained that the RSF’s latest strategy may be aimed at disrupting logistical and supply hubs under the army’s control.
“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,” she said.
The recent escalation has drawn regional and international concern. Neighbouring Egypt and Saudi Arabia have condemned the attacks, while the United Nations has expressed deep concern over the developments.
The war, which erupted in April 2023 due to a power struggle over Sudan’s transition to civilian rule, has since spiralled into one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters. More than 12 million people have been displaced, and nearly half of Sudan’s population now faces acute hunger, according to the United Nations.
