Drone attack on substation leaves much of Khartoum without power for more than 12 hours

A drone attack struck the Al-Markhiyat transformer station in the early hours of Tuesday 27 October and left much of Sudan's capital without electricity for more than 12 hours, according to the AP news agency. A source at the national electricity company told AFP that the outage affected "large parts" of Khartoum and Al-Jazira states. AFP places the station in Khartoum and AP in Omdurman, on the outskirts of the capital.

A company official who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity estimated that 60% of the capital's electricity supply could be affected and said water pumping stations were the hardest hit. According to AP, hospitals and bakeries ran on generators and the water supply was limited across the city.

The state-owned Sudanese Electricity Distribution Company acknowledged in a statement "serious damage and technical failures" in its grid, at several main stations and on power lines, without giving the cause. It warned that rationing will last longer than usual until repairs are completed, without giving a timeframe.

The anonymous company sources cited by AP and AFP attribute the attack to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary force that has been fighting the army since April 2023. The company's official statement does not attribute responsibility and the RSF have not commented, according to AFP. AFP also reports that on Monday an attack on six stations caused massive outages in four states in the east of the country.