RSF drone attacks hit Khartoum, cause power outage

September 9, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – Drone attacks by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) struck at least three sites across the capital Khartoum on Tuesday, triggering a major power outage in the city of Omdurman, witnesses and a Sudan Tribune correspondent said.

Several explosions were heard on Tuesday morning in northern Omdurman. Witnesses said suicide drones had targeted the Wadi Seidna military area and the Al-Markhiyat electricity substation, causing widespread blackouts across the city.

Video clips circulated online appeared to show electrical transformers on fire at the Al-Markhiyat substation.

The attacks also targeted the Al-Kalakla suburb south of Khartoum, near the Yarmouk military factory, and the Al-Jaili area, about 40 km north of Khartoum Bahri, which is home to the country’s main oil refinery.

The RSF controlled the Al-Jaili refinery from the start of the war in April 2023 until the army recaptured the strategic facility in January.

The drone strikes come as the Sudanese government attempts to restore normality to the capital, with expectations that Khartoum International Airport could reopen in October. Authorities are expected to deploy anti-aircraft defences in the coming days to protect strategic facilities.

In May, a similar RSF drone attack on three power stations caused a severe electricity crisis in Omdurman, one of Khartoum state’s most densely populated and economically active areas.

The latest attacks follow an intensification of army operations in the Kordofan region, west of Omdurman. The operations aim to retake key cities and break the RSF’s siege on El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.