Sudan paramilitary claims to have seized major oil refinery on first day of truce

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The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces claims to have seized a major oil refinery and power plant in Sudan, which supply about 70 per cent and 20 per cent of the country's fuel and electricity, respectively.

In the capital Khartoum, witnesses described hearing air strikes and gunfire, despite the implementation of a 72-hour ceasefire brokered by the US and Saudi Arabia.

The preliminary committee of the Sudan Doctors' Trade Union on Wednesday said that four people had been killed the day before, the first day of the truce.

The RSF, led by Gen Mohamed Dagalo, posted a video that it said had been taken at Al Jaili Refinery, 70km from the capital Khartoum, on Tuesday. The refinery is next to the Garri power station, one of Sudan's largest electricity providers.

In the video, an unnamed official says that RSF troops have surrounded the complex in a 40km radius.

“We have 200 per cent control over Sudan,” he says before the clip ends.

Garri power station has a capacity of 500 megawatts of electricity, or nearly 20 per cent of the country's available supply of about 2,800MW, according to the World Bank.

Any disruption of supply there would worsen an already difficult situation.

Before the conflict, electricity production covered less than 60 per cent of demand, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Khartoum residents say already frequent power cuts worsened after fighting began.

The refinery may be even more important: according to a 2022 assessment by the International Energy Agency, Sudan's refined fuel demand was about 150,000 barrels per day, with Al Jaili producing about 100,000 barrels per day of that requirement.

Noam Raydan, a regional energy analyst and research associate at the Washington Institute, says it is vital for rival forces not to fight over the critical refinery.

“If the refinery halts operations, then the question is, how will Sudan address its needs for oil products?” she says, pointing to trading data that shows the country makes up a deficit of refined fuel with imports, mainly from Gulf countries.

Sudan's finances have been under massive strain in recent years and in February, the government said it would struggle to pay public sector wages after passing the 2023 budget, leaving little available funds for fuel imports.

AFP reported on Tuesday that fuel prices were surging in Khartoum as residents queued at petrol stations to fill their cars, desperate to escape the war.

The US-Saudi-brokered ceasefire is the fourth attempt by the international community to bring a halt to hostilities that have taken the death toll to at least 460.

On Tuesday, the UN Security Council held a meeting during which Sudan's representative, Al Harith Idris, called on the RSF to stop its attacks on government and vital facilities.

Despite the ceasefire, witnesses reported hearing explosions and air strikes on Tuesday.

“The pause was not fully upheld, with attacks on headquarters, attempts to gain ground, air strikes and explosions in different areas of the capital,” UN Special Representative Volker Perthes told the Security Council on Tuesday.

Mr Perthes said he was in contact with both Gen Dagalo and army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan.

“There is yet no unequivocal sign that either is ready to seriously negotiate,” Mr Perthes said.

On Monday, Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the RSF of attacking and looting the building that houses the joint Sudan-Chad coalition forces.

“The attack destroyed the building … and supplies were looted. The head of the joint forces on the Sudanese side was injured as well as other members and individuals,” the ministry told the Suna state news agency.

“A number of people were also killed and two officers detained.”

The death toll of 460 announced by Sudan's Ministry of Health is probably an undercount, as it only includes the number of people in hospitals and morgues.

Several Sudanese civilians have reported — and videos seen by The National have confirmed — that there are a number bodies in the streets.

Agencies contributed to this report