Africa Security Update, Nov. 3: Drones Knock Out Sudan Substations as Khartoum Takes Ethiopia to the UN

Featured photo: Workers unload food aid at Port Sudan (file photo). Photo: USAID, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Drone strikes hit three electricity substations in eastern and northern Sudan early Monday, Nov. 2, causing widespread outages and bringing reported strikes on the power network to 18 in a week, Al Jazeera reported. Sudan’s army-led government blames the Rapid Support Forces and says Ethiopia is helping them, and it has filed complaints with the U.N. Security Council and the African Union.

Key takeaways

1. Substations in New Halfa and Aroma in Kassala state and al-Ghazali in Northern State were hit; Al Jazeera could not verify footage of the fires (see Sudan’s grid).
2. Sudan says 187 one-way attack drones struck it in 70 assaults from Feb. 15 to Oct. 27, launched from Ethiopia [!Unverified claim, Sudanese government, a party to the war]; no Ethiopian response was reported.
3. The army says a group of RSF members surrendered in Damazin, Blue Nile state, after a senior RSF commander announced his defection.
4. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is appalled by drone strikes in Sudan, his spokesman said, condemning attacks by all parties.
5. Uganda has begun withdrawing troops from Somalia after nearly two decades, with all forces due out by the end of 2027 (see Somalia).

By the numbers: Nov. 3

U.S. and allied force positions in Africa are on our military deployment tracker, and more conflict coverage is on our Warfare hub.

Sudan’s grid under attack

Facilities in New Halfa and Aroma, in Kassala state, were hit early Monday, and local media said the al-Ghazali substation in Northern State was also targeted, Al Jazeera reported. Videos on social media appeared to show civil defense teams fighting fires at the sites. On Oct. 28, a reported drone strike hit the al-Markhiyat power station north of Omdurman. The RSF and the army have been at war since April 2023.

Sudan’s complaint against Ethiopia

Sudan’s Foreign Ministry accused the RSF of using Ethiopian territory to attack civilian sites and power stations and filed complaints with the U.N. Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, Al Jazeera reported. A Transitional Sovereignty Council report alleged launch sites at Asosa Airport, the Kurmuk-Gizen border area and Bahir Dar airbase, and said 176 Sudanese soldiers were killed. It cited an Oct. 9 attack in Wad el-Mahi, Blue Nile, that it said killed 30 civilians. The allegations could not be independently verified. Ethiopia has accused Sudan’s military of backing rebels linked to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which Khartoum denies. Our full report: Sudan Says 187 Drones Launched From Ethiopia Struck It.

RSF defections in Blue Nile

The army said a group of RSF members surrendered in Damazin, capital of Blue Nile state, on Monday, after senior RSF commander Siddiq Ander said in a video obtained by Al Jazeera that he had defected. The army said the group’s commander gave information on operations in the area, including what it called Ethiopian support for the RSF [!Unverified claim, Sudanese army].

Humanitarian toll

The war has killed as many as 200,000 people, according to aid workers, displaced 13 million and caused famine in parts of the country, Al Jazeera reported. A U.S. State Department joint statement on Oct. 27 warned of the risk of famine in the coming months.

Somalia

Uganda has started withdrawing its troops from Somalia, BBC News reported. Acting army spokesperson Chris Magezi said the first group deployed under a bilateral arrangement had returned home and that all forces, including those under the African Union mission, would leave by the end of 2027 in phases.

Statements by officials

Paraphrased unless in quotation marks. Statements by governments that are parties to a conflict are their own claims.

What to watch

• Whether the U.N. Security Council or African Union takes up Sudan’s complaint, and any Ethiopian response.
• More strikes on Sudan’s power stations and the effect on water and hospitals.
• The pace of Uganda’s drawdown and the security handover in Somalia.

More from the TBR War Room today

• Middle East War Update, Nov. 3: U.S. Hits Iranian Missile Launcher on Qeshm as Iran Claims 3 Tankers Struck Mines
• Russia-Ukraine War Update, Nov. 3: 365 Drones and Missiles Hit Ukraine’s Grid and a Kharkiv Hospital
• Indo-Pacific Security Update, Nov. 3: Taiwan Tracks 49 Chinese Military Aircraft, the Most This Year
• Americas Security Update, Nov. 3: Rubio Presses Venezuela on a Phased Transition as Cuba’s Grid Falls 1,900 MW Short

Sources

• Al Jazeera: Drone attacks extend campaign targeting Sudan’s power system
• Al Jazeera: Sudan files complaints against Ethiopia with UN over deadly drone spree
• Al Jazeera: As aid situation worsens, displaced Sudanese worry about warnings of famine
• BBC News: Uganda begins withdrawing troops from Somalia

TBR War Room reports are compiled with AI assistance from the sources listed and reviewed against our editorial standards.