"Supply War" .. Targeting vital facilities pushes the Sudanese conflict into civilian areas

By Mohammed Abdulaziz (News Report) Khartoum -- The sounds of drones in Sudan’s skies are no longer just harbingers of military battles on the frontlines; they have become a tool of daily attrition, striking at the nerve of civilian life and leaving millions without electricity, water, or healthcare. Since late September until early November, only one of the country’s 18 states has been spared from drone attacks, in an unprecedented escalation that targeted 17 power stations, fuel depots, and vital facilities, plunging vast areas into darkness and paralyzing essential infrastructure such as hospitals.

In this war-exhausted country, the recent period has seen an increase in the use of drones as weapons crossing ceasefire lines, striking deep into the interior to turn power stations, water facilities, and markets into daily targets. This pushes civilians toward greater isolation and deprivation, exacerbating their suffering amid escalating attacks on vital installations, markets, and service facilities, which cause power and water outages, hospital disruptions, and reduced access to food and healthcare.

The Sudanese government accuses the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of intensifying drone attacks targeting airports, power and water stations, hospitals, and fuel depots, reflecting the widening scope of the conflict and its spillover beyond direct combat zones. According to the Sudan Electricity Company, electricity production has dropped from approximately 4,400 megawatts before the war to around 1,100 megawatts.

Military analyst Tayeb Malikabi told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Sunday that the escalation in targeting vital infrastructure is linked to battlefield shifts in recent months, following the army’s control of strategic areas in the Kordofan region and the cutting off of key supply lines for the RSF. Malikabi explained that the nature of military operations has expanded from controlling territory to targeting supply lines, resources, and infrastructure that enable both sides to continue fighting and manage areas under their control. He added that the use of drones has allowed the confrontation to move into areas far from the frontlines, targeting vital installations, supply lines, and logistical nodes, thereby limiting the ability to access and utilize resources and increasing military and economic pressure.

The military expert noted that targeting power and energy stations holds special significance due to their link to operating vital sectors and providing services to the population, meaning their disruption extends beyond military impact to political and social repercussions. He clarified that these developments reflect a shift in the nature of the war from competition over field control to a struggle over supply routes, resources, and the ability to access them, highlighting the strategic importance of the Kordofan region as a corridor linking Darfur to central Sudan and a hub for competition over communication and supply lines.

The United Nations Fact-Finding Mission had warned in September last year that the use of drones, advanced military weapons, and technologies, along with external support, had escalated the war between the warring parties by targeting areas with vital infrastructure.

Journalist and political analyst Mohammed Abdulnabi told KUNA that targeting power, energy, fuel, and public services represents a dangerous development in the war due to its direct impact on civilian lives, emphasizing that ordinary citizens are the biggest victims of the disruption of basic services. Abdulnabi added that the outage of electricity, water, and fuel increases humanitarian and economic pressures on the population across various regions of the country.

The repercussions of destroying energy and water infrastructure extend beyond immediate service paralysis, striking productive and agricultural sectors and threatening to exacerbate the food security crisis, as well as rising unemployment and inflation in a country whose economy relies primarily on local resources. Meanwhile, rights and humanitarian warnings are intensifying, asserting that the continued targeting of civilian objects and service facilities constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and hinders relief organizations’ efforts to deliver life-saving aid to the most vulnerable populations in affected areas. As the exorbitant cost of rehabilitating destroyed stations and facilities becomes apparent, observers note that the continuation of the “supply war” deepens the country’s wounds and makes future economic recovery and reconstruction more complex and resource-draining. While regional and international efforts continue to push for a comprehensive ceasefire, Sudanese civilians remain hostages to a harsh military calculus, with current and future generations bearing the cost, awaiting concrete steps to neutralize vital infrastructure and restore a glimmer of hope for the return of stability and basic services to their daily lives. (End) M.A.M. / T.M.A.