Sudanupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 26 September 2019Sudan Says It Shot Down Hostile Drone From Ethiopia, Accuses RSF of Attacks
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Sudan says drone entered from Ethiopia and was shot down over Blue Nile state Sudan filed complaints with UN Security Council and AU Peace and Security Council
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8 outlets told this the same way.
Drone claims and complaints
Sudan’s army said it shot down a “hostile” drone that crossed the border from Ethiopia into Blue Nile state in southeastern Sudan, as it described a new episode in a wider dispute over drone attacks on civilian infrastructure. Sudan’s government also filed complaints with the United Nations Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, accusing the Rapid Support Forces of using Ethiopian territory to launch attacks against civilian sites including power stations.
Abdul Kareem Al-Almin Ahmed said, “The mutual accusations are many and almost daily,” and he added that tension inside the Sudanese army had reached “high levels.” A Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs report with military intelligence alleged 70 separate assaults involving 187 one-way attack drones were launched from Ethiopian territory between February and October, with October alone seeing 28 attacks carried out by 97 drones.
Power stations hit
Sudan’s army said it had shot down a “hostile” drone in Blue Nile after a series of attacks targeting electricity stations across several Sudanese states, raising the number of targeted stations to 16 within a week and causing power outages in wide areas. The latest attack targeted a power station in the city of Meroi in the Northern State on Monday, and it also described a separate incident in West Kordofan where the army announced it had shot down a hostile drone described as the Chinese-made model “FH95.”
More than 90 percent of power stations in Sudanese cities had been rendered out of service due to drone attacks, and the technological capabilities of the weapons indicated significant external backing. Khartoum’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the Rapid Support Forces of using Ethiopian territory to launch “brazen aggression” against “civilian sites and power stations” in Sudan, resulting in hundreds of casualties and disruptions to essential services.
Human cost and escalation fears
Al Jazeera said drone attacks had already displaced 13 million people and that thousands were at risk of famine due to the war, while it also cited a report compiled by the Transitional Sovereignty Council linked to Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the SAF. Drone attacks between February 15 and October 27 killed 176 Sudanese soldiers and 484 civilians, and the report identified Asosa Airport in western Ethiopia, the Kurmuk-Gizen border area, and the Bahir Dar airbase in Amhara as specific launch sites.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the use of drones in the war, and he was appalled by the use of drones and condemned the catastrophic toll on civilians. Badr Hassan Al-Shafei warned that fears of escalation that could harm Sudan and Ethiopia were preventing an all-out confrontation, and he said Khartoum’s interest lay in stability along its eastern neighbourhood to avoid security threats and waves of asylum.