Security · Horn of Africa
Sudan accuses Ethiopia of letting 162 drone attacks be launched from its soil as strikes black out power stations
Khartoum says drones flown from Bahir Dar, Assosa and the border have killed more than 400 civilians and 102 soldiers. It showed wreckage and flight data but the claims have not been independently verified. Addis Ababa has called similar charges baseless.
ADDIS ABABA — Sudan has accused Ethiopia of allowing its territory to be used to launch a wave of drone attacks on Sudanese cities and power stations, a charge that threatens to pull a second neighbour into the war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
At a joint briefing in Khartoum on Wednesday, officials from Sudan’s defence, foreign and information ministries and the General Intelligence Service said 162 drone attacks had been launched from Ethiopian territory, killing more than 400 civilians and 102 military personnel, Radio Dabanga reported. They listed targets including El Damazin, Sennar, Kosti, Rabak, El Obeid and Umm Rawaba, and said dozens of schools, fuel stations, health centres and hospitals had been destroyed. Dabanga noted that the claims had not been independently verified.
The evidence Khartoum showed
The state Sudan News Agency said data extracted from downed drones “using advanced software” showed launch coordinates inside Ethiopia, including Bahir Dar Airport, and that satellite imagery supported the finding. Officials displayed drone wreckage and maps of flight paths. They said the aircraft included Turkish-made Bayraktar Akıncı and TB2 drones and Chinese-made models, and that Sudanese forces had shot several down, according to Dabanga. Sudan Tribune, carrying Reuters reporting, said Reuters was unable to independently verify the flight data or where the drones came from.
The briefing followed a week of strikes on the power grid. On Tuesday a drone disabled the Markhiyat power station north-west of Omdurman, cutting electricity across the capital area, and on Wednesday strikes hit a power station and fuel depots in El Manaqil in Gezira state, Sudan Tribune reported. Anadolu Agency said six electricity stations in Khartoum, Gezira, Sennar and Gedaref were targeted on Wednesday.
“Strategic patience”
“Ethiopia has not been deterred and has continued its aggression against Sudan,” foreign ministry undersecretary Muawiya Osman Khalid said, according to Anadolu. He said Sudan was pursuing a policy of “strategic patience” but would not compromise on its sovereignty, Dabanga reported, and Sudan Tribune said he also accused the United Arab Emirates of enabling the strikes. Neither the Ethiopian government nor the UAE could immediately be reached for comment, Sudan Tribune said.
Ethiopia has denied supporting the RSF before. Its mission to the UN called similar accusations “baseless” at the Security Council on 16 October, the Ethiopian news site Mereja reported, adding that it had asked the foreign ministry and the Government Communication Service to respond to the new claims and had not heard back by publication time. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was in Moscow for the Russia–Africa summit when the briefing took place.
AB24’s reading from Addis Ababa: Khartoum is going public in detail, with named airfields, aircraft types and casualty totals, at a moment when Ethiopia is fighting in Tigray, has broken off relations with Eritrea and has just unveiled Russian fighter jets. Ethiopia has not answered this round of allegations. What to watch for is whether Sudan takes its evidence to the UN Security Council or the African Union, and whether Addis Ababa responds in detail rather than with a blanket denial.
Sources: Radio Dabanga, 29 Oct 2026; Sudan News Agency, 28 Oct 2026; Sudan Tribune (with Reuters), 28 Oct 2026; Anadolu Agency, 28 Oct 2026; Mereja, 29 Oct 2026. Casualty figures and launch-site claims are those of the Sudanese government and have not been independently verified.
— AB24 · Addis Ababa