Reported drone attack sets fire at Al Manaqil power station and fuel depot, Sudan
Oct 2026Published 3 Nov 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
Get the next one by email
Free alerts on grid infrastructure incidents in Sudan, and an email when EIR-2743 is updated. No account needed; unsubscribe in one click.
Confirm your email and every substation and transformer incident on the register arrives at once as a spreadsheet (CSV), free.
Get a free sample brief Three complete verified records and the incidents-per-GW table, by email within a minute.
We will also email you about the register's paid records and plans, at most once a week and three times in all. You can stop these at any time. By signing up you agree to the privacy policy.
What happened
In the early hours of Wednesday 28 October 2026, drones reportedly struck Al Manaqil in Sudan's Al Jazirah State. Reported targets included the city's power station and transmission substation, a fuel distribution station and a fuel depot east of the city. Local sources told Sudan Tribune that the attacks caused power outages across the city and surrounding areas. The BBC reported that the strike hit the main transformer at the electricity supply station and damaged fuel stocks at the Al Karimat Petroleum Depot and Al Mithaq fuel station.
Misbar compared Sentinel-2 satellite images taken on 23 and 28 October and found signs of fire at the depot and the transmission substation on 28 October that were not visible on 23 October, which are likely to have resulted from the attack. Civil defence teams managed to extinguish the fires. No casualties were reported. Sudanese authorities blamed the Rapid Support Forces, which has neither claimed the attacks nor commented on the accusations. The satellite images do not establish who carried out the attack.
Contributing factors
Attribution to the Rapid Support Forces rests only on Sudanese government accusations. The attacks were reported as part of a wider escalation: the Sudan Electricity Company said on 26 October that five transmission substations had been targeted in Sennar, Gedaref and Al Jazirah, and the Emergency Lawyers Association said 13 electricity stations were targeted during October. Strikes on oil pipelines in Haya, Red Sea State, coincided with the Al Manaqil attack.
Lessons learned
- Where substations and fuel storage sit close together, a single strike can damage both; separate fuel stocks from critical electrical equipment where practicable.
- Operators in conflict zones should consider holding spares for main transformers, since one strike can cut supply to a whole city for an extended period.
- Before and after satellite imagery can help confirm physical damage independently where ground access or official reporting is limited.
More lessons on outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.
Source
Other entries that name Manaqil
Published 2026-11-03. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
