Protesters Block Port Sudan–Khartoum Highway Over Power Cuts During Heatwave

Protesters continued blocking sections of the main highway linking Port Sudan to Khartoum in the Suakin and Gebeit areas of Red Sea State on August 1, 2026, extending a blockade that began the previous day over severe electricity cuts during an intense heatwave. Residents said blackouts were lasting up to 12 hours a day, disrupting homes, businesses, and public services; demonstrators said the blockade followed repeated failed appeals to state authorities. The protests are part of a wider nationwide power crisis that Sudan's Ministry of Energy and Oil has attributed to the halt of electricity imports via the Ethiopia grid connection and fire damage to transmission lines linked to the Merowe Dam hydroelectric plant, compounded by surging summer demand.