A wave of drone strikes by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) struck key infrastructure in Port Sudan on Tuesday, plunging the eastern city into darkness and raising fears of further escalation in the two-year-long civil war.

The strikes mark the third consecutive day of attacks on the previously untouched city, now home to Sudan’s military-backed government.

Sudan’s national electricity provider confirmed to the BBC that the drone assault caused “a complete power outage” in Port Sudan after hitting a major power station.

Other drones targeted significant locations across the city, including the civilian section of the international airport, forcing flight cancellations, and a central army base.

A third drone struck a fuel depot near the port, and witnesses reported damage to a hotel near the residence of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. No casualties have been reported so far.

Sudan’s Information Minister, Khalid Aleiser, visited the affected fuel depot and openly accused the United Arab Emirates of supporting the RSF with arms. The UAE denied the claim and condemned the strikes.

Once a safe haven for displaced citizens and a functioning seat for the army-aligned administration, Port Sudan had remained largely untouched since the RSF first captured Khartoum in 2023.

The latest assault suggests a strategic shift in RSF operations from ground battles to aerial attacks as the army regains control of central regions of the country.

The UN has temporarily halted humanitarian flights in and out of Port Sudan in response to the violence.

“None of our offices, premises or warehouses have been impacted, and we continue to carry out our regular operations,” said UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq.

As the RSF intensifies its campaign, hitting military airports and fuel facilities over three consecutive days, the humanitarian situation in Sudan risks deteriorating further, with hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people now facing renewed uncertainty.