Paramilitaries Launch 35 Drones in Eastern Sudan, Triggering Power Outages and Killing Three

Drone attacks in eastern Sudan triggered power outages across multiple states and killed three people, according to an AFP report carried by L'Orient-Le Jour.

“A deadly strike in the south”

africaradio

The article says that “35 drones” were launched at dawn by paramilitaries targeting the cities of Atbara, Ad-Damer and Berber in the Nile State, with the strikes aimed at civilian installations.

africaradio

It adds that the drones hit the transformers of the Al-Muqrin power station in Atbara, and that a second strike killed two rescue workers as they tried to extinguish the fire from the first attack.

L'Orient-Le Jour quotes an AFP source as saying, “A l'aube, la milice a lancé 35 drones contre les villes d'Atbara, Ad-Damer et Berber, dans l'Etat du Nil, visant des installations civiles.”

The same report says the victims were “deux secouristes tués par une deuxième frappe de drone” while they were attempting to put out the blaze.

It also states that the Nile State government confirmed their deaths and accused “des milices qui n'ont aucun respect pour la vie humaine.”

The national electricity company is quoted describing the outages as an interruption of electricity supply in several states, with Port Sudan official Abdel Rahim Al-Amin saying, “Depuis deux heures du matin, nous n'avons plus d'électricité.”

Multiple outlets describe the same eastern-Sudan attack as centered on the Al-Muqrin power station in Atbara, with rescuers killed by a second drone strike and major cities left without power.

Le Figaro reports that drone strikes targeted “the transformers at the Al-Muqrin power station in Atbara, Nile State,” and says the strikes plunged “Khartoum and Port Sudan” into darkness after the attack on the night from Wednesday to Thursday, citing witnesses and AFP.

Agenzia Fides

It repeats the detail that “Two rescuers were killed by a second drone strike” while they were trying to extinguish the first fire, and it says the Nile State government confirmed the deaths in an official statement.

Le Figaro also states that around “02:00” regular army forces activated air defense systems and that witnesses saw “flames and smoke rising above the city.”

It adds that power outages spread to “the Nile and Red Sea” states, and that Port Sudan is “the provisional seat of the pro-army government.”

In the AFP-based account, L'Orient-Le Jour says the station is a “nœud stratégique” receiving electricity produced by the Merowe Dam before redistribution.

Agenzia Fides, meanwhile, frames the same kind of drone activity as RSF strikes on electrical infrastructure, saying RSF drones hit an electrical substation in Atbara and “Swarms of drones also targeted the Al-Maqran power plant.”

Alongside the eastern blackouts, rights groups and regional reporting describe drone strikes near Khartoum that killed civilians traveling in populated areas.

“A drone strike carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed five civilians in Khartoum, according to an NGO”

Al Jazeera

TRT World says Sudan’s Emergency Lawyers reported “five civilians were killed” in a drone strike by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeting “a civilian vehicle” in the west of the capital Khartoum.

It quotes the RSF statement as saying, “An RSF drone targeted this morning (Saturday) a civilian car on the Jumu'iyyah Road in southern rural Omdurman, coming from the Sheikh al-Siddiq area in White Nile state.”

TRT World adds that the strike “killed all five passengers in the vehicle,” and it says the rights group held the RSF fully responsible for “this crime and the resulting loss of civilian lives.”

The same account describes the incident as “a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, which requires the protection of civilians and prohibits targeting them under any pretext.”

جريدة الشرق adds additional scene details, saying witnesses reported the drone “flew at a low altitude” before it fired munitions that struck the car directly, causing it to explode and burn completely.

It also states that “No official comment has been issued” by Khartoum government authorities or the RSF about the incident.

The Sudan reporting also shows divergence in how drone attacks are framed and in the casualty figures attached to specific strikes.

For the eastern power-plant attack, L'Orient-Le Jour says the drone strikes “faisant trois morts,” while Le Figaro focuses on two rescuers killed by a second drone strike and describes the broader blackout affecting “Khartoum and Port Sudan.”

Anadolu Ajansı

L'Orient-Le Jour further says the strikes targeted transformers at Al-Muqrin and that a second strike killed two rescue workers, while it also reports that Emergency Lawyers documented “la mort d'une fillette, quatre blessés (...) et un incendie” in damaged homes.

Le Figaro, in contrast, centers the confirmed deaths on “Two rescuers” and does not present the same child-death figure in its account.

In the Khartoum-area drone strike, TRT World and Anadolu Ajansı both report five civilians killed, but the surrounding narrative differs: TRT World emphasizes the “continuation of a pattern of attacks targeting civilians on public roads and in populated areas,” while Anadolu Ajansı repeats the same legal framing from Emergency Lawyers about “a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.”

جريدة الشرق adds that witnesses said the drone flew “at a low altitude” and that the car “explode[d] and burn completely,” while also stating no official comment had been issued.

For the southern-sudan strike reported by CNews with AFP, the casualty figure is “Onze personnes” killed on “mardi 28 avril,” and it adds that another drone strike hit the region of Khartoum for the first time since months.

The sources connect the drone attacks to a wider pattern of conflict that has produced mass displacement, famine risks, and stalled humanitarian access.

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L'Orient-Le Jour says that “Plus de 1.000 civils ont été tués” in April in the Zamzam IDP camp in North Darfur during an attack by paramilitaries, and it attributes the figure to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Le Devoir

It also states that since October the city of El-Fasher, described as the last bastion of the army in Darfur, fell to the RSF, which “domin[ent] désormais un tiers du territoire soudanais.”

The article says violence then moved toward Kordofan in the south, where “plus de 50.000 civils ont été déplacés,” according to the International Organization for Migration, and it adds that Kadugli has been declared in a state of famine by the UN.

It further reports that Kadugli and Dilling are besieged by the RSF since “18 mois.”

In a separate AFP-based report carried by مونت كارلو الدولية, clashes and drone strikes killed “51 people” in Kordofan over Wednesday and Thursday, with a medical official telling AFP that “28 people were killed and 60 others were wounded” in strikes on Dalang.

For immediate political and security steps, L'Orient-Le Jour says General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane is expected in Cairo on Thursday “afin d'examiner les moyens de régler la crise soudanaise,” as indicated by the Egyptian presidency.