Blackout in northern Sudan after paramilitary Rapid Support Forces target Merowe power station

By Adel Abdelrheem and Ikram Kouachi

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - Sudan's electricity company announced Saturday that drone strikes by the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted the Merowe power station, causing a widespread electricity blackout across the Northern State.

“The RSF targeted the Merowe power station with drones, damaging the transformer that supplies power to the Northern State, which resulted in a complete outage,” the Sudan Electricity Company said in a statement.

The company warned that “repeated targeting of power facilities has serious negative consequences on public services and civilians’ daily lives.”

Meanwhile, the Sudanese Army’s 19th Infantry Division in Merowe stated it had intercepted multiple RSF drones aimed at its headquarters and the nearby Merowe Dam.

“Several drones launched by the RSF militia were downed before they could reach their targets. These repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure will not succeed in achieving their objectives,” the army's statement said, emphasizing continued efforts to secure strategic sites.

This marks yet another attempt by the RSF to strike the Merowe hydroelectric dam, located on the Nile in Northern Sudan, roughly 350 kilometers north of Khartoum.

There was no immediate statement from the RSF regarding the incident.

In recent weeks, the territorial control of the RSF has been shrinking rapidly in favor of the army across several states, including Khartoum, Al-Jazira, White Nile, North Kordofan, Sennar, and Blue Nile.

The army and RSF have been fighting a war since April 2023 that has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 14 million others, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US universities, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.

The international community and the UN have called for an end to the war, warning of an impending humanitarian catastrophe as millions face famine and death due to food shortages. The conflict has spread to 13 of Sudan’s 18 states.