New attacks in Sudan – hit by drones

Sudan

Attack on airport in Sudan – traffic stopped

TT

Updated 09.20 | Published 06.54

Archive image from Port Sudan airport, which served as an exit gate when the war broke out in April 2023 and thousands fled the country. Photo: Amr Nabil/AP/TT

The airport in the important port city of Port Sudan has been attacked with drones. All flights have been canceled.

This is the third day in a row that the seat of the army-backed government has been attacked.

The AFP news agency's reporter on the spot testifies to loud explosions at dawn, followed by thick columns of smoke against the sky above the Sudanese city. In images, flames are seen rising under a huge column of black smoke.

– The drone was targeted at the civilian part of the airport, an airport official said.

Another drone reportedly hit a military base and a hotel in central Port Sudan. Both are close to the residence of army chief Abd al-Fattah al-Burhan. A third drone attack targeted a fuel depot near the port, a military source said.

            

          

           Port Sudan airport under attack.

          1 / 2Photo: Khalid Abdelaziz / Reuters
 

The attack comes two days after a drone attack on a military base at Port Sudan airport, an attack that the war-torn country's army blamed on the paramilitary RSF. The regular army and the RSF militia, which has formed its own political government with allied groups, have been fighting a bloody war since April 2023.

The Red Sea city of Port Sudan serves as a sort of alternative capital for the army-backed government, which moved there from the actual capital, Khartoum, when the civil war broke out. The UN has also moved its headquarters to Port Sudan, as have hundreds of thousands of civilians.