Sudan has accused Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates of being behind a wave of drone attacks on the country, recalling its ambassador from Addis Ababa and warning that the aggression will not be “met with silence”. The Sudan Ethiopia UAE drone accusation is the sharpest diplomatic escalation of the war since the army retook Khartoum last year.
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, according to Al Jazeera. On Tuesday, the Sudanese government recalled its ambassador from Ethiopia, accusing Addis Ababa and the UAE of being behind an attack on Khartoum International Airport that forced authorities to suspend operations for three days. Last week, the airport had received its first flight since the conflict began — a period of relative calm in the capital now shattered by a renewed wave of drone attacks.
Complaints to the UN and African Union
On Sunday, Sudan’s government said it had filed complaints against Ethiopia with the United Nations Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, accusing Addis Ababa of involvement in the ongoing campaign of attacks on civilian infrastructure and power stations, according to Al Jazeera. The UAE has not yet reacted to the latest accusation, but has repeatedly denied funding the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group at war with the Sudanese Armed Forces since April 2023.
The drone campaign has increasingly targeted Sudan’s power system. Attacks on Monday hit three electricity substations in eastern and northern Sudan, bringing the number of strikes reported against the electricity network to 18 over the past week, according to Al Jazeera. Facilities in New Halfa and Aroma in eastern Kassala state were hit early on Monday, while the al-Ghazali substation in Northern State was also targeted. An RSF drone attack on Tuesday targeted the al-Markhiyat transformer station, disrupting power for millions across large parts of Khartoum and Gezira state, a national electricity company told AFP.
A war fought from the air
The accusations come as the RSF steps up drone strikes on government-held territory, including Khartoum’s airport, dams and power stations in the east, while the army regularly strikes Nyala, the RSF’s de facto capital in Darfur — where a drone strike on a market on Monday killed at least 21 people and injured 40, according to AFP. The Sudanese military government claims Ethiopia is aiding the RSF in carrying out the attacks, a charge Addis Ababa has not publicly answered in the reporting so far.
The war, which the United Nations has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, has killed an estimated 150,000 people and displaced about 14 million since April 2023. The diplomatic row with Ethiopia now adds a regional dimension to a conflict that is increasingly being fought — and accused — across borders.
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Sources: Al Jazeera (6 Nov 2026, on the Ethiopia/UAE accusation); Al Jazeera (6 Nov 2026, on the power-system drone campaign); AFP via Al Jazeera (on the Nyala market strike).
