Drone strikes targeting Port Sudan continued for a third consecutive day, marking a dramatic escalation in the country’s ongoing conflict. The attacks, which struck the port and airport, have disrupted Sudan’s only international exit routes, threatening to destabilize one of the few areas previously untouched by violence.

The bombings, carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under Mohamed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagalo, have challenged the control of Sudan’s regular army (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. After being expelled from Khartoum in March, RSF forces have continued expanding their offensive, launching frequent drone attacks on army-controlled territories.

Sudan’s Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Dr. Mohi El-Din Naeem Mohamed Saeed, condemned the assaults as “terrorist operations”, revealing that fuel depots and diesel reserves were set ablaze. Authorities remain engaged in containing the fires and preventing further disaster.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt, alongside other Arab nations, have condemned the targeting of civilian infrastructure in Port Sudan. Egypt, which has received hundreds of thousands of displaced Sudanese, warned that this military escalation could jeopardize ceasefire efforts and worsen the humanitarian crisis.

Meanwhile, al-Burhan has accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of supplying combat drones used in RSF’s attacks, a claim emerging shortly after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dismissed Sudan’s lawsuit against the UAE over alleged involvement in the Darfur genocide. The ICJ ruled that it lacked jurisdiction over the case due to UAE legal objections.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a brutal power struggle between al-Burhan’s army and Dagalo’s RSF paramilitary forces. The war has led to tens of thousands of deaths, displaced 13 million people, and plunged entire regions into famine, cementing Sudan as one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.

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