Khartoum: A major power outage has crippled healthcare services in Sudan's Omdurman city, part of the wider Khartoum metropolitan area, medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Sunday.
Omdurman, one of Sudan's most populous urban centers, is facing its fourth large-scale blackout this year. The MSF blamed the latest disruption on drone strikes allegedly carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), targeting three power stations in Khartoum State on May 14.
The outage has left nearly all of Omdurman without electricity, impacting vital infrastructure, including two Ministry of Health hospitals -- Al Nao and Al Buluk -- both supported by the MSF. The facilities are currently operating without power, water, or oxygen, the group said.
Al Nao Hospital, the main medical facility in the Al-Thawra district of northern Omdurman, serves communities across the capital metropolitan area, which includes Omdurman, Khartoum, and Bahri. "If its services stop, a critical lifeline will be cut," the MSF warned in a post on social media platform X.
The organization condemned the attacks on civilian infrastructure, calling them a violation of international humanitarian law. "These strikes are compounding an already dire humanitarian crisis. They must stop immediately," it said.
Sudan's state electricity company confirmed the May 14 strikes, saying three power stations in Omdurman had been hit by drones, triggering widespread blackouts and further disrupting essential services across Khartoum State.
Sudan has been engulfed in a brutal conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF since April 2023. The war has killed tens of thousands and forced millions to flee their homes, both within Sudan and across its borders.
