Port Sudan witnessed a fresh armed confrontation on Tuesday after members of a force linked to armed movements clashed with anti-narcotics police during a field operation in Souq Libya, south of the city, local witnesses and Sudanese media reported.
The incident left two anti-narcotics officers wounded, injured several civilians caught near the scene, and caused a police vehicle to be set on fire, according to reports citing security and local sources.
The clash is the latest sign of widening friction inside areas controlled by the Port Sudan authorities, where SAF-aligned armed groups, police units and military formations increasingly operate side by side with unclear chains of command.
According to the reports, the anti-narcotics force had been carrying out a campaign targeting crime and drug activity in Souq Libya when the confrontation broke out with members of the Joint Force of armed movements. Gunfire was reported in the area before the wounded were taken for treatment and security measures were deployed to prevent renewed fighting.
No official statement had been issued by General al-Burhan’s SAF, police leadership or the armed movements involved by the time of publication.
The Port Sudan incident came only hours after a separate shooting inside a traffic police station in El Jebelein, White Nile state, where a traffic policeman was killed and another injured following a dispute with members of the Joint Force.
Local sources said the confrontation in El Jebelein began after three armed members of the Joint Force entered the traffic department to ask about the release of a truck driver linked to an earlier traffic accident. The prosecutor’s office had reportedly ordered the driver’s release after investigations were completed, angering the armed group.
The argument escalated into gunfire inside the police station. Police assistant Ahmed Mohamed Al-Ajab later died of his wounds while being transferred for medical treatment, while another officer, Ramadan Mohamed Khalifa, was wounded in the leg.
Military intelligence personnel from Brigade 70 intervened to contain the situation, and the suspected gunmen were detained before being transferred to the 18th Infantry Division command in Kosti for legal procedures, according to local reports.
The two incidents have deepened concerns over the growing lawlessness inside SAF-held territory, particularly in areas where the Port Sudan junta relies on a patchwork of allied armed movements, mobilised fighters and security units to maintain control.
While the SAF presents these formations as allies in its war against the Rapid Support Forces, repeated internal clashes have raised questions over discipline, command authority and the risks faced by civilians living under the control of competing armed actors.
Sudan’s war, now in its fourth year, has fractured state institutions and turned many towns under SAF control into heavily militarised zones where police forces, SAF units and allied militias often operate with overlapping mandates.
The latest violence in Port Sudan is especially sensitive because the Red Sea city serves as the administrative base of the SAF-backed authorities and hosts government institutions, foreign missions and humanitarian operations displaced from Khartoum.
