Sudan’s military accused Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates of orchestrating drone strikes on Khartoum International Airport on Tuesday and recalled its ambassador to Addis Ababa the next day.
Military spokesperson Brigadier General Asim Awad Abdelwahab said Tuesday that Sudan recovered data from a UAE-origin drone shot down over el-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, and linked it to three other strikes from Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar airport since March 1. “What Ethiopia and the UAE have done is direct aggression against Sudan and won’t be met with silence,” Abdelwahab said.
Sudan’s government and military have formally accused the UAE and Ethiopia of orchestrating a series of drone strikes on Khartoum’s international airport and military bases.
Critical updates:
*- Officials claim to have “conclusive evidence” including flight data from drones… pic.twitter.com/ClUWwg0EKa
— Sudan Tribune (@SudanTribune_EN) May 5, 2026
Foreign Minister Mohieddin Salem warned that “whoever attacks us will be met with a response.”
Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry rejected the allegations as “baseless” and accused the Sudanese Armed Forces of backing fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. A UAE official told AFP the charges amounted to “a calculated pattern of deflection.”
The denials follow documented allegations. In February 2026, Reuters reported that Ethiopia secretly hosted a Rapid Support Forces (RSF) training camp near Asosa in western Ethiopia, backed by UAE logistics, with roughly 4,300 RSF recruits in training as of early January. Ethiopia expelled three Reuters correspondents days after publication. Sudan’s current accusation, centered on Bahir Dar to the north, represents a second alleged point of Ethiopian involvement.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt condemned the strike. Massad Boulos, the U.S. senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, said external support to both sides must stop.
The Norwegian Refugee Council reported more than 700 people killed by drone strikes across Sudan since January 1, 2026. Khartoum airport remained suspended for a third consecutive day on Wednesday, the United Nations said, describing the facility as a critical humanitarian hub a week after receiving its first international commercial flight in three years.
