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Several explosions and fires have been reported in Port Sudan following drone strikes in the area as the conflict between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) escalates.
Military officials said the barrage on early Tuesday (May 6) was the second such attack this week on a city that had been a hub for people fleeing Sudan's two-year war.
Explosions and fires rocked Port Sudan on Tuesday, as footage circulating online revealed thick smoke billowing over the city.
Local media reported the sounds of multiple blasts at both the port and the airport. No immediate information was available regarding casualties or the extent of the damage.
This attack on Port Sudan, the temporary seat of Sudan's military-aligned government, highlights the continuing threat both the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces pose to each other's territory, even after two years of conflict.
The RSF drones struck early in the morning, said two Sudanese military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
Abdel-Rahman al-Nour, a Port Sudan resident, said he woke up to strong explosions, and saw fires and plumes of black smoke rising over the port.
Msha’ashir Ahmed, a local journalist living in Port Sudan, said fires were still burning late Tuesday morning in the southern vicinity of the maritime port.
The attack apparently disrupted air traffic at the airport, with Cairo airport data in neighbouring Egypt showing that three Port Sudan-bound flights were canceled on Tuesday.
The RSF did not release any statements on the attack. On Sunday, the paramilitary force struck Port Sudan for the first time in the war, disrupting air traffic in the city’s airport, which has been the main entry point for the country in the last two years.
A military ammunition warehouse in the Othman Daqna airbase in the city was also hit, setting off a fire that burned for two days.
When the fighting in Sudan broke out, the focus of the battles initially was the country's capital, Khartoum, which turned into a war zone. Within weeks, Port Sudan, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) to the east of Khartoum, turned into a safe haven for the displaced and those fleeing the war. Many aid missions and UN agencies moved their offices there.
The attacks on Port Sudan are also seen as retaliation after the Sudanese military earlier this month struck the Nyala airport in South Darfur, which the paramilitary RSF has turned into a base and where it gets shipments of arms, including drones.
The RSF is allied with the United Arab Emirates, which UN experts say has provided weapons, including drones, to the paramilitary. The UAE denies the claim. Sudan's military is backed by Egypt.
Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023, when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare in Khartoum. From there, the fighting spread to other parts of the country.
Since then, at least 24,000 people are reported to have been killed, though the number is likely far higher. The war has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including four million crossed into neighbouring countries. It also pushed parts of the country into famine.
The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in the western Darfur region, according to the United Nations and international rights groups.
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