Burhan Orders Faster Repairs And Security At Merowe Dam

Merowe, August 16, 2026 - Sudan's army chief and Transitional Sovereign Council head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ordered faster repairs and tighter security at the Merowe Dam to stabilize electricity supplies after outages hit several key states.

Burhan inspected the dam's power station and reviewed rehabilitation work following a fire that damaged main transmission lines. The disruption caused widespread blackouts in Khartoum, River Nile, Northern and Red Sea states.

Authorities deployed thermal generation as an emergency measure while crews replaced damaged cables and worked to reconnect the dam to the national grid. Technical teams also repaired damaged facilities, including a key transformer substation.

The directive underscores the national importance of Merowe Dam as power infrastructure during wartime. Reliable electricity is critical for banking, telecoms, water systems, ports and any private-sector restart in areas under government control.