Drone strike targets navy base in Port Sudan
3 Min Read
A wave of drone strikes hit Port Sudan and Kassala, including the strategic Flamingo Base, as the Sudan conflict intensifies following the RSF’s losses in Khartoum.
-
Smoke billows after drone strikes by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted the northern port in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, Sudan, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP)
A drone strike targeted Sudan's largest naval base on Wednesday, according to an army source speaking to AFP, marking the fourth consecutive day of attacks on the seat of the army-aligned government.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity due to a lack of authorization to speak to the media, said the drones came under fire from anti-aircraft missiles.
An AFP correspondent reported hearing a series of explosions early Wednesday, followed by a cloud of smoke rising from the direction of the Flamingo Base just north of the city.
Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast has served as a safe haven, sheltering hundreds of thousands of displaced people and housing United Nations offices, until Sunday, when drone strikes attributed to the Rapid Support Forces began.
Drones struck multiple targets across Port Sudan on Tuesday, hitting the main port, damaging the city's power station, and reaching the country's last operational international airport.
Nearly 600 kilometres (375 miles) to the south, three drones attempted to strike airport facilities in the army-controlled eastern city of Kassala near the border with Eritrea, a security source said Wednesday, while witnesses told AFP that they heard explosions from anti-aircraft missiles west of Kassala.
The long-distance drone campaign follows the RSF's loss of control over nearly all of greater Khartoum in March, after having maintained dominance over the area for virtually the entire duration of the war since its outbreak.
Disruption to aid raises fears
The Rapid Support Forces have not issued a direct statement on this week's attacks on Port Sudan, located about 650 kilometres (400 miles) from their nearest known positions on the outskirts of greater Khartoum.
The strikes have heightened concerns about potential disruptions to humanitarian aid across Sudan, where famine has already been declared in certain areas and nearly 25 million people are facing severe food insecurity.
The UN's humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, expressed deep alarm over the continuing drone attacks targeting Port Sudan, which serves as a critical center for their relief efforts and a major gateway for delivering aid.
Nearly all aid into Sudan flows through the port city, which the United Nations has called "a lifeline for humanitarian operations," while warning of more "human suffering in what is already the world's largest humanitarian crisis."
