\n<\/p>\n
Sudan has been plunged into an internet blackout with many blaming the paramilitary group fighting the army in the country’s 10-month civil war.<\/p>\n
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has denied responsibility.<\/p>\n
NetBlocks, a watchdog that monitors internet freedom, said on X, there had been a “new collapse of internet connectivity” in Sudan.<\/p>\n
It comes as a Sudanese hacktivist group targeted Uganda for welcoming the RSF leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.<\/p>\n
NetBlocks said it had found a disruption to the services of internet providers Uganda Telecom and MTN, although a BBC reporter in the capital Kampala said he did not notice any problems.<\/p>\n
In Sudan, some people have reported being unable to access the internet since Friday but the situation has since got even worse.<\/p>\n
State-aligned media have blamed the RSF.<\/p>\n
However, according to the Sudan Tribune news site, an RSF official accused the army of issuing direct orders to sever communication in parts of Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum, and Al-Jazirah states, which are largely under the control of the paramilitary group.<\/p>\n
NetBlocks said on Wednesday that the one of the major mobile operators in Sudan, Zain, was “largely offline”.<\/p>\n
In a statement posted on Facebook, Zain said that it was “working under very difficult, harsh, and dangerous circumstances”.<\/p>\n
It added that the “current network outage is due to circumstances beyond its will”.<\/p>\n
Two other providers, South African-owned MTN Sudan and state-owned Sudani, were operating at zero on Friday, according to NetBlocks.<\/p>\n
The network outage adds another layer of hardship to a nation at war.<\/p>\n
In response to the ongoing conflict, the United Nations has appealed for $4.1bn (\u00a33.25bn) to address the urgent humanitarian needs of those in Sudan and people who have been forced to flee their homes.<\/p>\n
At least nine million people have been displaced, while some 25 million – half the entire population – need assistance, the UN says.<\/p>\n
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