"They (the drones) were met with anti-aircraft missiles," the source said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

An AFP correspondent heard a series of explosions coming from the direction of the Flamingo base for nearly half an hour at dawn.

War has raged since April 2023 between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which the government has called a "proxy" of the United Arab Emirates.

Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast had been a safe haven city, hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced people and United Nations offices, until Sunday when drone strikes blamed on the RSF began.

Drones struck across the city on Tuesday, hitting the main port, the city's main power station and the country's last functioning international civilian airport.

Since it began, the war has killed tens of thousands, uprooted 13 million and created the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.