The drone strike hit a major power plant in Sudan’s city in Port Sudan, causing a “complete power outage,” the country’s electricity provider said.
The explosion and massive fires have been reported near the city’s major international airport as paramilitary targeting key cities for the third day in a row.
The flight was cancelled after the drone raided at a hotel near the International Airport and the current Presidential Palace, the report says.
“I’m seeing huge clouds and fire like everything in town…and I’ve heard they’re like two more big bangs. It looks very apocalyptic,” journalist Christina Colour told the BBC’s Newsday program.
Dawn saw thick black smoke on the previously safe city skyline, where thousands of people fled the two-year civil war were seeking evacuation.
On Tuesday, Sudan’s utility said it was assessing damage to substations, where supply of water, health and other services is disrupted.
One drone targeted the private sector at Port Sudan Airport, while the other attacked a major army base in the city centre, an eyewitness told AFP news agency.
The third drone attacked a “fuel depot near Nanko” in the populated city centre. There, UN officials, diplomats, aid agencies and Sudanese troops moved from the capital Khartoum.
The main hotel near the residence of Army Secretary Abdel Fatta al-Burhan was also attacked by the attack, witnesses said.
Following the attack, the UN temporarily suspends aid flight to Port Sudan, but regular aid operations continue, said Fahan Hak, the UN’s deputy spokesman.
“None of our offices, premises or warehouses has been affected. We continue to do our normal business,” Haq added.
On Tuesday, Sudanese government spokesman Khaled Al-Aiser said the military is protecting the affected fuel storage “to the greatest possible” and added that “the will of the Sudanian people will remain unbreakable.”
The military denounced the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for the drone attack that began on Sunday. RSF has not commented on the attack yet.
In a statement, the African Union warned that the attack on Port Sudan represents a “dangerous escalation” in the Sudan civil war and a “direct threat to civilian life, humanitarian access and regional stability.”
Before Sunday’s attack, Port Sudan had avoided artillery fire and was considered one of the safest places in a war-torn country.
Paramilitary groups are increasingly relying on drones to regain lost territory, including Khartoum, which was brought back to the Army in March.
The two-year battle between the Army and the RSF killed thousands and forced millions out of their homes, creating the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Both the Army and the RSF are accused of war crimes.
