PORT SUDAN: A drone strike targeted Sudan’s biggest naval base Wednesday, an army source told AFP, marking the fourth straight day the seat of the army-backed government has come under attack.
“They (the drones) were met with anti-aircraft missiles,“ the source said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
An AFP correspondent reported a series of explosions and then a cloud of smoke coming from the direction of the Flamingo Base, just north of the city.
War has raged since April 2023 between Sudan’s regular armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which the government has called a “proxy” of the United Arab Emirates.
Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast had been a safe haven, hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced people and United Nations offices, until Sunday when drone strikes blamed on the RSF began.
Drones struck across Port Sudan on Tuesday, hitting the main port, the city’s power station and the country’s last functioning international airport.
Nearly 600 kilometres (375 miles) further south, “three drones attempted to strike airport facilities” in the army-held eastern city of Kassala, near the border with Eritrea, a security source said.
Witnesses told AFP they heard explosions from anti-aircraft missiles west of the city, which has also come under repeated attack this week.
Nationwide, the war has killed tens of thousands of peoople and uprooted 13 million.
Aid access
The RSF has not directly commented on this week’s attacks on Port Sudan, about 650 kilometres (400 miles) from its nearest known positions on the outskirts of greater Khartoum.
The strikes have raised fears of disruption to humanitarian aid across Sudan, where famine has already been declared in some areas and nearly 25 million people are suffering dire food insecurity.
UN relief chief Tom Fletcher said he was “very concerned by ongoing drone strikes on Port Sudan, a hub for our humanitarian operations and key entry point for aid”.
Nearly all aid into Sudan flows through the port city, which the United Nations has called “a lifeline for humanitarian operations”.
It has warned of more “human suffering in what is already the world’s largest humanitarian crisis”.
The United States on Tuesday condemned the drone attacks “on critical infrastructure and other civilian targets in Port Sudan and throughout the country”.
“These attacks represent a dangerous escalation in the Sudan conflict,“ the State Department said.
Spain too condemned the attacks, calling them a “violation of international law and a threat to peace efforts”.
Wednesday’s attack comes a day after Sudan cut ties with the UAE, accusing it of supplying weapons used by the RSF to strike Port Sudan and declaring the Gulf country an “aggressor” state.
The UAE has long denied supporting the RSF, despite reports from UN experts, US politicians and international organisations.
The long-distance drone campaign comes after the RSF lost control of nearly all of greater Khartoum in March, after holding it virtually since the start of the war.
The war has effectively split Sudan in two, with the army controlling the centre, north and east while the RSF holds nearly all of Darfur in the west and parts of the south.
