Drone strikes on electricity substations in two northern Sudanese towns have further weakened the country’s power grid, disrupting water supplies, hospitals, markets and other businesses, according to residents and local officials cited by the Los Angeles Times.
The attacks on Sunday hit substations in Al-Dabbah, in Northern state, and Abu Hamad, in River Nile state. Both towns lost electricity. Sudan’s government and Emergency Lawyers, a rights group tracking the attacks, blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The RSF has not been independently established as responsible in the information reported.
Emergency Lawyers said 15 substations have been targeted since early October. The strikes have left the war-torn country’s electricity system increasingly dependent on a small number of power plants, raising the risk that further damage or fuel shortages could produce broader outages.
“We heard a huge explosion that shook the houses, and then the power went out,” said Abbas Wadaa, a resident of Al-Dabbah, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The substation in Al-Dabbah was found completely burned after the explosion, residents said. Mohammed al-Nour, the station’s guard, was killed, according to Wadaa. The resulting outage shut markets, hospitals and bakeries, while the absence of diesel made it difficult for businesses to use generators.
“We have a generator, but there’s no diesel in the city,” said Seif al-Rawasi, a baker, according to the Los Angeles Times. “We don’t know why the RSF is targeting citizens by destroying power stations.”
Fuel shortages compound infrastructure damage
The disruption is affecting more than commercial activity. The Sudan Doctors Network warned that power losses threaten hospitals, dialysis centers and blood banks, as well as the cold storage required for medicines and vaccines. Electricity shortages also affect water services, adding pressure to communities already dealing with the consequences of the conflict.
In Abu Hamad, a drone strike destroyed the substation and put it out of service, the local security committee said. No casualties were reported there. In Al-Dabbah, residents and businesses face a separate fuel constraint: diesel supplies are running low, limiting the use of backup generators even where equipment is available.
- Electricity: Substations in Al-Dabbah and Abu Hamad were knocked out on Sunday.
- Health care: Doctors warned that outages endanger dialysis centers, blood banks and medicine storage.
- Agriculture: Farmers rely on electric irrigation systems as the winter growing season begins.
- Business: Markets, bakeries and other commercial activity have been disrupted by the loss of power and diesel.
Farmers face an additional risk because irrigation depends on electricity, while diesel shortages limit the ability to run pumps independently. The timing coincides with the beginning of the winter growing season, according to the report.
A grid under pressure from the war
The attacks are taking place as Sudan’s wider energy infrastructure is strained by the war. Repeated damage to substations and the loss of dependable fuel supplies have reduced the grid’s resilience, while hospitals and essential businesses are being forced to rely on generators or operate without electricity.
The consequences extend into the local economy. Power outages interrupt production, refrigeration and trading, while alternative electricity supplies add costs for businesses and households. The outages also affect public services that depend on continuous power, including medical treatment and water distribution.
Emergency Lawyers attributed the Sunday attacks to the RSF, while Sudanese authorities have also blamed the paramilitary group for the wider campaign against electricity stations in army-held areas. The strikes underscore how damage to energy infrastructure is affecting civilian services and commercial activity across parts of Sudan.
