RSF drone strike hits strategic fuel depot in central Sudan

September 27, 2026 (WAD MADANI) – Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces struck a strategic fuel storage facility on Sunday near Wad Madani, the capital of central Al Jazirah state, security sources and witnesses said.

The drone attack targeted the Um Aleila fuel depot near the town of Abu Haraz, about 20 km (12 miles) northeast of Wad Madani, in the early hours of Sunday, according to security sources speaking to Sudan Tribune.

Witnesses in adjacent villages reported hearing several loud blasts followed by thick plumes of black smoke billowing from storage tanks across the complex.

The RSF could not immediately be reached for comment.

Um Aleila is one of Sudan’s primary petroleum reserves, serving as a critical hub for storing and distributing gasoline and diesel throughout the agricultural state of Al Jazirah and adjacent regions.

The facility had previously been ransacked during the RSF’s takeover of Wad Madani in December 2023, when control rooms and supply pipelines were damaged, and equipment was looted.

The strike comes amid a protracted war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group, which erupted in April 2023 and has triggered widespread devastation, famine risks, and one of the world’s largest displacement crises.