The Sudanese government has accused Ethiopia of being behind recent drone attacks on sites including Khartoum airport and recalled its ambassador on Tuesday. A military spokesperson in Sudan stated that the government possesses evidence that four drone strikes occurring since March 1 originated from Ethiopia's Bahir Dar airport. Additionally, Sudan accused the United Arab Emirates of supplying the drones.
Background of the Conflict
The Sudanese military has been at war with a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, when the RSF stormed the capital. The battles have increasingly shifted towards drone warfare, concentrating in the Kordofan and Blue Nile states. Sudan has long accused the UAE of supporting the RSF, and U.N. experts and rights groups have also accused the UAE of providing arms to the group. The UAE has rejected these accusations.
Details of the Attacks
The most recent attack occurred on Monday and targeted the airport in Sudan's capital, Khartoum. Previous attacks were launched towards the Sudanese states of Kordofan, Blue Nile, and White Nile. Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Asim Awad Abdelwahab stated at a Tuesday press conference that the government had analyzed data and evidence from a drone that entered Sudanese airspace heading for El-Obeid in Kordofan state on March 17. The analysis concluded that the drone had originated from the United Arab Emirates and took off from Ethiopia.
"We do not want to initiate aggression against any country, but whoever attacks us will be met with a response," Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohi al-Din Salem said during the joint press conference.
Ethiopia's Response
Ethiopia's foreign ministry, in a statement on Tuesday, rejected the "baseless accusations." It accused Sudan of violating its territorial integrity by supporting rebels in the northern Tigray region but said it had exercised restraint from publicizing the violations due to the ties between the two countries. "It is evident that these hostile actions, as well as the recent and earlier series of allegations by officials of Sudanese armed forces, are undertaken at the behest of external patrons seeking to advance their own nefarious agenda," the statement said.
Impact on Civilian Life
Khartoum airport's gradual reopening last year marked a key step in efforts to restore normal life in Khartoum, with ministries and millions of people starting their return to the capital and surrounding states. The U.N. migration agency reported that around 4 million people have returned to Sudan. Drone attacks have occurred frequently in the war, but Khartoum was considered largely safe until a string of attacks shattered the sense of calm in the capital and central Sudan.
A drone strike on Saturday in Omdurman, the capital's sister city, killed five people in a civilian bus. Another strike on Sunday in the central Sudan state of Al Jazirah killed family members of Abu Agla Kaikal, a commander with the Sudan Shield Forces, a group allied with the Sudanese military that defected from the RSF earlier in the war.
Casualties and Humanitarian Concerns
At least 59,000 people have been killed in this war, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, an independent conflict-monitoring body. Aid groups, however, say the true toll could be much higher, as access to areas of fighting across the vast country remains limited.
