Sudan Accuses Ethiopia And UAE Of Drone Attacks On Khartoum International Airport

Sudan accused Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of being behind recent drone attacks, and on Tuesday recalled its ambassador from Ethiopia after an attack on Khartoum International Airport forced authorities to suspend operations for three days. Sudan’s military said it has evidence that four drone attacks have been launched from neighbouring Ethiopia since early March, alleging that the UAE supplied the drones. A military spokesperson in Sudan told the Associated Press that the government has evidence of four drone strikes since March 1 originating from neighboring Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar airport, and it also accused the UAE of supplying the drones. Sudan’s Foreign Minister Mohi al-Din Salem said, “whoever attacks us will be met with a response,” as the dispute escalated after the Monday attack targeted the airport in Khartoum.

“A drone launched by Sudan 's paramilitary forces targeted the airport in the capital of Khartoum on Monday but was shot down before it could hit the target, airport officials said”

Africanews

Ethiopia’s foreign ministry dismissed Sudan’s accusations as “baseless” and accused Sudan of fomenting unrest by funding rebels in the Tigray region, while a senior official with the TPLF, Amanuel Assefa, told AFP, “We have no connections with the Sudanese authorities.” Sudan’s army spokesman Brig. Gen. Asim Awad Abdelwahab said the government had analyzed data and evidence from a drone that entered Sudanese airspace heading for El-Obeid in Kordofan state on March 17 and found that it had originated from the UAE and took off from Ethiopia. In a press conference, Abdelwahab also said, “What Ethiopia and the UAE have done is direct aggression against Sudan and won't be met with silence,” while the Information Ministry earlier said no one was wounded and no damage was caused by the attack on the airport. The BBC reported that Safaa Al-Hadi in Khartoum said, “When we heard the sound of drone missiles, fear overtook me,” linking the renewed attacks to anxiety among residents after the army returned to reassert control over the capital.

The dispute threatens to widen beyond Khartoum as Sudan warned of retaliation and Ethiopia and the UAE traded denials, with Alan Boswell of the International Crisis Group warning that Sudan’s accusation marks a “very dangerous dynamic.” Boswell told Al Jazeera that both countries “essentially, both sides now see the other as supporting their armed opponents,” and he said the timing of the attacks is tied to a war in Sudan that “just continues to escalate with no clear off-ramp.” The BBC described how drone attacks around Khartoum International Airport led to the suspension of flights scheduled to Port Sudan, and it reported that a drone fired four missiles at facilities at the airport. In addition to the airport dispute, the BBC said Emergency Lawyers announced the killing of five civilians after a drone attacked a civilian vehicle in the southern countryside of Omdurman, and it said the Sudanese army accused both the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia of involvement in those attacks.