Repeated drone attacks striking Port Sudan since early May serve as a reminder that the civil war tormenting the country, now in its third year since April, remains as devastating as ever. The numbers reflect the extent of this often-overlooked conflict: over 150,000 dead and more than 13 million people displaced by the fighting. Until now, Port Sudan had been spared and served not only as the capital of the de facto government, which relocated there when Khartoum became a battleground, but also as a crucial entry point for aid in a country beset by a humanitarian crisis. This crisis prompted United Nations Secretary General António Guterres to describe Sudan as trapped in a “nightmare of violence, hunger, disease and displacement.” The destruction of essential infrastructure by these drone attacks, including one on the country’s last operational civilian airport, will only complicate the delivery of aid. Contrary to what seemed a plausible scenario at the end of March – when the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan regained control of Khartoum after being ousted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), paramilitaries led by his rival General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti,” his former deputy – this reconquest did not lead to a turning point in the war. The conflict erupted nearly six months after the October 2021 military coup, which ended the promising democratic experiment born from the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir.

Full opinion : While the civil war ravaging Sudan for over two years stems from a rivalry between two men, it is being fueled by regional influences.