Drone attacks struck electricity and fuel facilities in two more Sudanese towns on Wednesday, 28 October, extending a wave of strikes against energy infrastructure that has left large areas without power and raised fears of further disruption to essential civilian services.
The latest attacks targeted Al-Managil in Gezira state and Haya in Red Sea state, both in areas controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces.
The strikes followed earlier attacks on electricity substations across several states, prompting warnings from the United Nations about the consequences for water supplies, hospitals and other critical services.
In Al-Managil, drones suspected of belonging to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) struck an electricity facility and fuel storage and distribution sites early on Wednesday.
Sudan's electricity distribution company said the power station had been taken out of service, while local sources reported outages affecting the town and surrounding areas.
Emergency crews brought fires under control, according to local accounts. Three fuel stations and a main electricity transformer were reportedly damaged, although the extent of the destruction had not been independently confirmed.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from the Al-Managil attack.
In Haya, three drones reportedly targeted a major fuel pumping facility. Initial accounts indicated that two missed their targets, while the third struck the site without causing significant damage.
Haya is an important location on a fuel transportation route linking Port Sudan with Khartoum and other parts of the country.
The attacks followed a strike on the Al-Markhiyat electricity substation northwest of Omdurman, which knocked the facility out of service and disrupted supplies across parts of Khartoum and River Nile state.
Sudan's Ministry of Energy and Petroleum described the damage as severe and said technical assessments were under way before repairs could begin.
Earlier in the week, five substations in Sennar, Gedaref, White Nile and Gezira states were reportedly attacked.
Sudan's electricity authorities said those strikes caused a major failure in the southeastern power network and threatened the stability of the national grid.
The Emergency Lawyers group reported that two guards were injured at the Sinja facility, while electrical equipment was damaged at other installations.
A separate strike on 20 October destroyed two main transformers at the Tendelti substation in White Nile state, cutting power to Tendelti, Umm Rawaba and El Obeid.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that continued attacks on electricity infrastructure could severely affect essential services, including drinking water supplies and healthcare.
The agency emphasised the obligation to protect civilian infrastructure under international humanitarian law.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also warned that Sudan's conflict had developed beyond a struggle for political power into a war increasingly affecting civilians.
In a statement published on X, Guterres called for an end to the fighting, protection for civilians, unhindered humanitarian access and respect for Sudan's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The electricity attacks come amid reports of heavy civilian casualties elsewhere in the country.
In Nyala, South Darfur, the Sudan Founding Alliance, known as Tasis, said the death toll from airstrikes had risen to 102, with 113 people injured. The alliance accused the Sudanese army of carrying out the attacks.
Those figures and the allegation of responsibility could not be independently verified.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that Nyala Teaching Hospital, which it supports, received the bodies of 36 people and treated more than 150 injured patients after an airstrike hit a crowded market in the western part of the city.
MSF said 21 of the dead brought to the hospital were wearing civilian clothing. A second strike reportedly hit a residential neighbourhood.
The figures released by MSF represent patients and bodies received at the hospital and should not be treated as a confirmed total for all casualties across Nyala.
As repair teams assess damage to Sudan's power network, the latest attacks have intensified concerns that disruption to energy supplies will deepen the humanitarian crisis in a country already devastated by prolonged conflict.
