Sudan’s Internet Partially Restored

The Zain tower on the 15th street of the Al Amarat district, in central Khartoum

February 12, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudan’s telecommunications network and internet partially came back online on Monday after the government-owned “Sudani” company set up a temporary data centre in Port Sudan.

This follows a nationwide outage ordered by the Rapid Support Forces, which control the data centres of the different telecommunications companies in Khartoum.

Most cities regained access to Sudani’s services, although some users reported ongoing issues with direct connections and limited internet access. Private operators Zain and MTN haven’t yet restored full service.

Unnamed sources told Sudan Tribune that Sudani engineers successfully activated the backup data centre after significant efforts.

Former Communications Minister Hashem Hasab al-Rassoul claimed on social media that the outage resulted from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) instructing companies to shut down services. He compared it to previous shutdowns during major events, including the June 2019 attack on protesters’ sit-in outside the general command in Khartoum.

“This time, however, the de facto authorities used a different party,” he added, implying the RSF’s involvement.

Sources pointed to the ” Disaster Recovery Center” in Port Sudan, enabling Sudani’s quick recovery as evidence supporting the former minister’s accusation.

Zain’s managing director, Al-Fateh Erwa, also blamed the shutdown on RSF orders to close Khartoum’s main data centre, adding they demanded service resume in Darfur first.

(ST)