Drone attacks hit a key power plant in Sudan, killing two rescue workers and plunging Khartoum and Port Sudan into darkness amid ongoing war.
PORT SUDAN: Major cities across Sudan were plunged into darkness after drone strikes targeted a key power station.
Witnesses reported widespread blackouts in the capital Khartoum and Port Sudan on Thursday.
The strikes hit transformers at the Al-Muqrin power plant in the army-controlled city of Atbara.
A plant official said an initial strike was followed by a second that hit rescue workers.
“Two members of the civil defence were killed while trying to extinguish the fire that erupted after the first drone strike by the militia,” the official said, referring to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
One other person was injured in the attack.
The Sudan Electricity Company said the fire was not under control by Thursday morning.
The River Nile State government confirmed the deaths of the two rescue workers.
Witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke rising from the strategic facility in Atbara.
The damaged plant is a hub in the national grid, receiving power from the Merowe Dam before redistribution.
Sudan’s army and the RSF have been locked in a brutal conflict since April 2023.
The war has killed tens of thousands and displaced 12 million people.
The United Nations says the conflict has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
In recent months, the RSF has been accused of launching drone attacks on army-controlled civilian infrastructure.
These strikes have caused power outages affecting millions of Sudanese citizens. – AFP
