Drone strikes have hit a fuel depot and a hotel in Port Sudan, bringing the violence to a city that had so far been spared in the civil war.

The strikes are the first on the de-facto capital along the Red Sea. About a quarter of a million refugees have fled to the state where Port Sudan resides since the civil war erupted two years ago.

Sudan’s wartime capital was struck by a series of explosions on Tuesday as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces sought to use drones to expand the conflict deep into army-controlled territory. The Red Sea city of Port Sudan became the de facto capital after the Sudanese armed forces were driven from Khartoum during a power struggle with erstwhile allies from the RSF two years ago.