Sudan Accuses Ethiopia and United Arab Emirates of Drone Attacks on Khartoum International Airport

Sudan’s government accused Ethiopia of backing drone attacks that targeted Khartoum International Airport, and it summoned its ambassador to Addis Ababa for consultations after the Monday strike.

Ethiopia rejected the allegations as “baseless,” saying in a Tuesday statement that it “exercised restraint and refrained from publishing grave violations of its territorial integrity and national security committed by some warring parties in the Sudanese civil war.”

Al Jazeera

Sudanese Foreign Minister Muhyiddin Salem and Sudanese Armed Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Asim Awad Abdul Wahab said they had evidence that drones used in the attack on Khartoum International Airport originated from Bahir Dar Airport in northern Ethiopia.

Abdul Wahab said the attacks launched from Bahir Dar Airport began on March 1, targeting the White Nile, Blue Nile, North Kordofan and South Kordofan states in Sudan.

He added that on March 17, one of the drones was shot down near the city of Al-Ubayyid and was found to be “owned by the United Arab Emirates, and it was used from within Ethiopian territory.”

Egypt condemned the “targeting of Khartoum International Airport by drones,” calling it “a flagrant violation of Sudan's sovereignty” and warning it “could complicate the security and humanitarian situation in brotherly Sudan.”

In a joint press conference, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohy al-Din Salem said that they do not want to start aggression against any country, but those who attack us will face a response.

Al-Jazeera Net

Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry responded by calling Sudanese accusations “baseless” and accusing the Sudanese Armed Forces of providing weapons and financial support to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

Sudanese Army spokesman Asim Awad Abdel Wahab said Sudan has “conclusive evidence” that the drones were launched from Bahir Dar Airport in Ethiopia.

He tied the incident to previous accusations that Abu Dhabi supplied money and weapons to the RSF, and said: “Based on these documented evidences, we confirm that what the two countries, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, did is a direct aggression against Sudan and will not go unanswered.”

The drone dispute is unfolding against a wider backdrop of the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces locked in conflict since April 2023, after a power struggle between Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemetti, escalated into open war.

“Ethiopia rejects Sudan's claims that its territory was used to launch drone strikes targeting multiple sites in Sudan, and instead says that the Sudanese army provided support to the main political and quasi-military group in Tigray, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)”

Al-Monitor

Al Jazeera Net described Bahir Dar Airport as a “controversial site” in the mutual accusations between Khartoum and Addis Ababa, with Khartoum saying the airport was used to launch drones supporting the Rapid Support Forces.

The same Al Jazeera Net report said Open Source Intelligence analyzed Planet Labs satellite images captured during May 2026 and found expansion works, newly paved aprons, and newly built aircraft hangars at Bahir Dar Airport.

It also linked the timing to Sudanese Armed Forces spokesperson on May 5, 2026 announcing that the Sudanese army has “documented evidence” proving that drones took off from Bahir Dar airport toward targets inside Sudan.

Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, rejected the accusations as “baseless” and stressed that it was not involved in any military operations against Sudan, while the Monitor reported Ethiopia accused Sudan of supporting rebels in Tigray and facilitating incursions along Ethiopia’s western border.