During Sudan's civil war, which erupted in April 2023, both sides have increasingly relied on drones, and civilians have borne the brunt of the carnage. The conflict between the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group is an example of war transformed by commercially available, easily concealable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones. Modular, well-adapted to sanctions evasions and devastatingly effective, drones have killed scores of civilians, crippled infrastructure and plunged Sudanese cities into darkness. In this visual investigation, Al Jazeera examines the history of drone warfare in Sudan, the types of drones used by the warring sides, how they are sourced, where the attacks have occurred and the human toll. The RSF traces its origins to what at the time was a government-linked militia known as the Janjaweed.

Major cities across Sudan, including the capital, Khartoum, and coastal city Port Sudan, have been plunged into darkness after drone strikes hit a key power plant in the country's east. Flames and smoke rose from the facility in Atbara, River Nile state on Thursday, which is controlled by the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and under attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the ongoing civil war that has ripped the nation apart. Sudan's RSF trying to hide atrocities: Report Two civil defence members were killed, power plant officials said, while trying to extinguish the fire that erupted after the first strike, adding that rescue workers were injured when a second drone hit as they battled the flames. Al Jazeera correspondent Mohamed Vall in Port Sudan reported that residents initially thought a routine power cut had occurred, only to learn it was linked to incidents in Atbara, roughly 320km (about 230 miles) north of Khartoum. He added that such strikes have become a frequent occurrence in Sudan's war.

A suspected drone attack by Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary has killed at least 11 people at a displacement camp in River Nile state, authorities said. In a statement late on Friday, the local governor said the attack knocked out a nearby power station for the fourth time since the war between the RSF and the Sudanese army began two years ago. The attack marks a deadly escalation in the ongoing conflict, with a further 23 people injured, a medical official said. Witnesses said at least nine children were among the wounded. "My son, my cousin, my daughter's husband and two children, my cousin's children are dead. The boy is 10 years old and the girl is about two years old," witness Haleema told Al Jazeera.

In the moon-like landscape of northern Sudan, informal gold miners toil with spades and pickaxes to extract their prize from shallow pits that pockmark the terrain. Mining ore in the sweltering heat of the Nubian desert is the first stage of an illicit network that has exploded in the past 18 months following a pandemic-induced spike in the gold price. African governments desperate to recoup lost revenue are looking to Dubai to help stop the trade. Interviews with government officials across Africa reveal smuggling operations that span at least nine countries and involve tons of gold spirited over borders. That's a cause for international concern because the funds from contraband minerals dealing in Africa fuel conflict, finance criminal and terrorist networks, undermine democracy and facilitate money laundering, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. While it's impossible to say precisely how much is lost to smugglers each year, United Nations trade data for 2020 show a discrepancy of at least $4 billion between the United Arab Emirates' declared gold imports from Africa and what African countries say they exported to the UAE.

Wading through waist-deep water, residents of the al-Shigla neighbourhood in Omdurman, twin city of Sudan's capital Khartoum, tried to rescue what was left of their possessions as they floated by. Others stood by in despair, observing the aftermath of days of torrential rains that brought record-breaking flash floods to the country where the Blue and White Niles join to become the Nile River. Pieces of furniture, broken tiles, damaged vehicles and more were washed away by this year's rain that fell profusely and continuously for nearly two weeks. The rain and flooding exceeded records set in 1946 and 1988, killing more than 100 people and forcing the government to declare a three-month state of emergency this week. To many Sudanese like Amna Ahmed, seasonal rains, in and of themselves, are nothing new.