Where the strikes hit

Sudan's Rapid Support Forces launched a coordinated drone attack on five power stations, causing mass power outages across the country's east, according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The sudan drone strikes power cuts left large parts of three states without electricity.

• Drones struck two power stations each in Al-Jazira and Gedaref states and one in White Nile state
• All three states are under the control of the Sudanese army, which has been fighting the RSF, its former ally, since April 2023

Residents count the losses

In Al-Fao, resident Babiker Youssef said the power had been out since early morning. His son is diabetic, and the insulin has to be kept in a fridge. He said he feared he would not be able to replace the medication if it spoiled. "We have no idea when the power will come back," Youssef said.

Ibrahim Mohammed, a 37-year-old grocer in Gedaref, said his shop was already suffering power cuts lasting hours before the strike. He said he now risks losing his entire stock of refrigerated chicken, or selling it off at any price, which would still mean a loss.

Abdelhafez Daafallah, a 54-year-old farmer in Al-Junaid in Al-Jazira, said the power station had been repaired only three months earlier. "We hoped we would be able to finally get back to farming, but now the station has been hit," he said.

Farmers still rebuilding

Farmers in Al-Jazira have been struggling to rehabilitate and replant their land since the army recaptured the state from the RSF last year, and Daafallah had been unable to work his land for nearly four years before the latest strike.

A war fought by drones

The war in Sudan, which aid workers estimate has killed more than 200,000 people, is fought primarily via drones, with both sides launching attacks that have killed dozens of civilians at a time.

• Drone strikes killed more than 300 people and injured hundreds more in the first three weeks of October, according to a UN tally
• Electricity has previously been cut for days at a time after paramilitary strikes on power stations and hydroelectric dams
• The United Nations has repeatedly warned that regular attacks on power stations threaten health and services for millions of people facing the world's largest hunger crisis

Sudan, Africa's third-largest country with an estimated 50 million people, is also facing unprecedented inflation, with its currency losing more than 25% of its value in recent weeks. The majority of the country's hospitals have been forced to close and at least 8 million children are out of school.

For Daafallah, the latest blow came just as recovery seemed within reach: the electricity had begun to improve only three months ago, and residents say they have no idea when it will return.