Sudan’s most powerful paramilitary force struck targets in the city of Port Sudan early on Tuesday morning, Sudanese military officials said, the second attack on the government’s seat of power in recent days.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or confirmation of the extent of the damage.
Two military sources told the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity that Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) struck early on Tuesday. Online footage showed billowing clouds of smoke.
Visiting the southern part of the port where he said fuel tanks had been struck, Sudan's Information Minister Khalid Aleiser condemned the United Arab Emirates (UAE), accusing it of arming the RSF.
“We will continue our legitimate battle,” he said.
The UAE's foreign ministry released a statement on Monday, a day after strikes on the Red Sea city on Sunday, condemning “the targeting of vital civilian facilities and critical infrastructure” in Port Sudan and Kassal and denouncing the attacks as “a blatant violation of international humanitarian law”.
A UAE foreign ministry official strongly rejected the allegations that it is involved in Sudan’s war, telling Euronews: “The UAE has already made absolutely clear that it is not providing any support or supplies to either of two belligerent warring parties in Sudan.
“We have consistently urged both sides to agree to an immediate ceasefire, disengage from hostilities and restore a civilian government independent from military control. We call on all international partners to focus on what matters most: ending the violence and helping the Sudanese people.”
Ahmed Soliman, Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House’s Africa Programme, told Euronews that the wave of attacks on Port Sudan represented “a new phase” in Sudan’s civil war.
“The army has had a lot of success on the battlefield since autumn, pushing the RSF out of central Sudan and retaking much of the capital. We’re seeing RSF stepping up air attacks and seeking to hit previously safe areas, hitting critical infrastructure — fuel depots, hotels, the airport — to make life extremely difficult for civilians and show that the army is not able to provide safety in those areas.”
Until recently, the city had been “relatively conflict free” and operated “as a hub for remaining institutions, international community and humanitarian assistance”, he said.
Soliman characterised the attacks also as being motivated by the RSF “looking to enhance morale of its forces”.
“But the key reason is the army has been very bullish – now [the RSF] is trying to show that the army isn’t going to be able to protect and provide respite from RSF attacks. Without fuel, electricity – it’s a highly insecure picture, which aims to make it impossible for the army to say [the situation] is returning to normal. It’s part of RSF strategy, having lost significant control on the ground.”
“They’re showing they don’t need troops on the ground for havoc and damage – and also that they’re clearly not defeated. The message coming out of the army was that they were on the verge of victory –– though most analysts would have suggested that’s not really the case, and what you have is de facto areas of control and entrenched division.”
The attacks came a day after the United Nations' highest court dismissed Sudan's case accusing the UAE of breaching the Genocide Convention by allegedly arming and financing the RSF. Judges ruled that they lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
Despite both parties being signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention, the UAE has a caveat in the section that grants jurisdiction to the ICJ, effectively shielding it from proceedings under that clause.
Tuesday's attack disrupted air travel, with Cairo airport data showing that three flights to Port Sudan were canceled on Tuesday. Meanwhile, satellite images from Planet Labs PBC also show fuel tanks on fire, southeast of downtown Port Sudan, on a farm belonging to the state-owned Sudan National Petroleum Corp.
The RSF has not released a statement about the attack.
Until Sunday, Port Sudan, which is some 800 kilometres east of Khartoum, had been considered a safe haven for displaced people and those fleeing the war's destruction.
The war began in April 2023, after tensions between the Sudanese military and the RSF erupted in Khartoum and soon spread beyond the capital.
Estimates of the number killed in the conflict vary widely, from 24,000 to as many as 150,000. Some 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including 4 million who have left the country.
Parts of Sudan are suffering famine, with around half the population — nearly 25 million people — experiencing acute food insecurity, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
The IPC Famine Review Committee has confirmed famine in at least five areas, while five more areas were forecast to succumb to famine between December 2024 and May 2025, the OHCHR said.
