The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have intensified their assaults in Port Sudan, following their initial strikes on the eastern Sudanese city this past weekend.
The RSF deployed drones targeting critical locations early Tuesday, including the city’s airport, port, and a hotel, as reported by military officials.
Eyewitnesses reported numerous explosions, fires, and thick smoke rising from the area, though there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage extent.
Data from Cairo airport in neighboring Egypt indicated that the attack disrupted air traffic at Port Sudan airport.
This marks the latest in a series of escalated attacks that began on Sunday, when the RSF launched its first offensive on Port Sudan since the onset of the Sudanese civil war in 2023.
On Sunday, a military ammunition depot at Othman Daqna airbase was struck, followed by attacks on fuel depots on Monday, with military sources attributing these actions to the RSF, which has not claimed responsibility.
Once regarded as a safe haven, Port Sudan has become the de facto center of the army-aligned government since the RSF’s invasion of Khartoum two years ago, and it has also served as a base for UN and aid agencies.
The city has accommodated hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals, and the recent assaults are expected to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
According to Shaun Hughes, the World Food Program’s emergency coordinator for Sudan and the region, nearly 25 million people—half of Sudan’s population—are facing severe hunger.
Hughes described the situation as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis ahead of the war’s second anniversary, the conflict has resulted in the displacement of 13 million individuals, with 8.6 million of them being internally displaced within Sudan, as reported by the UN refugee agency.
The war in Sudan erupted in April 2023 due to escalating tensions between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s military government and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo’s Rapid Support Forces. Initially, the fighting broke out in the capital, Khartoum, before extending throughout the nation.
Since the onset of the conflict, at least 24,000 lives have been lost, although the actual figure is likely much higher.
Two years into the war, the army has regained control over Khartoum and has managed to drive the RSF out of most central Sudan, while the paramilitary group has adapted its strategy from ground assaults to drone warfare in April 2025.
