RSF drone attacks cause blackout in north Sudan’s Atbara

April 14, 2025 (ATBARA) – Drones, alleged to have been launched by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), targeted a fuel depot and a power generation station in the city of Atbara in Sudan’s northern River Nile state on Monday, causing widespread power outages.

For several consecutive days, the RSF has targeted strategic civilian and military sites in Northern and River Nile states, causing significant damage, including to the Merowe Dam, resulting in power cuts affecting several states, according to reports.

The intensification of air attacks targeting cities in northern Sudan follows threats by RSF deputy commander Abdel Rahim Daglo to invade Northern and River Nile states.

Eyewitnesses told Sudan Tribune that drones targeted petroleum product storage sites west of the industrial area in Atbara for the second time in less than a week, destroying one warehouse.

The witnesses also reported that another drone attack targeted Atbara’s electricity infrastructure at the same time as the attack on the fuel depot.

Activists shared images on social media showing plumes of smoke rising from the fuel depot and the Al-Mogran electricity substation.

Meanwhile, the Media Coordination Council of the Sudan Electricity Company said in a statement that drones attacked the Atbara station on Monday.

The statement added that the attack directly damaged transformers supplying the River Nile and the Red Sea states, halting electricity supply to both states.

It noted that Civil Defence forces were making significant efforts to extinguish the resulting fire and that a technical assessment of the damage would be conducted before undertaking necessary repairs.