The seat of Sudan's army-aligned government was without power on Monday, AFP correspondents said, after a drone attack blamed on paramilitaries hit a major hydroelectric dam in the war-torn country's north.

The Sudanese army, at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, said in a statement that the attack on Merowe Dam was part of a "systematic campaign" against military sites but also targeting "vital" infrastructure.

AFP journalists in Port Sudan on the Red Sea, where the army-aligned government and the United Nations have been based since the war's early days, said widespread power outages have persisted since early Monday.

The army said that Merowe Dam and its power station, located about 350 kilometres (220 miles) north of the capital Khartoum and serving Port Sudan and other areas, were hit by "a number of suicide drones".

"Some losses were incurred, which will be repaired," the army statement said.

Online footage, which AFP could not independently verify, showed fires engulfing the dam's electrical infrastructure.

The RSF did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.

Since the early morning attack, local media said that the army-controlled cities of Atbara, Dongola and Omdurman - across the Nile from Khartoum - have also been hit by power outages.

In November last year, the army accused the RSF of targeting Merowe with 16 drones, though no casualties or significant damage were reported at the time.

The dam is one of Sudan's biggest sources of hydroelectric power.

Merowe city, in Sudan's Northern State, is also home to a major military airport.

The latest attack came two days after the army recaptured Wad Madani, the capital of the central state of Al-Jazira, after more than a year of paramilitary control.

In addition to decimating Sudan's already fragile infrastructure, the war has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, uprooted more than 12 million and pushed many Sudanese to the brink of famine.

AFP