Sudan recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia and accused Addis Ababa and the UAE of involvement in a drone attack that targeted Khartoum airport on Monday. Ethiopia denied the allegations and said it had refrained from publishing “grave violations committed by Sudan against Ethiopia’s national security out of respect for friendship.”
The accusation raises the risk of a wider regional spillover from Sudan’s civil war, which has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and left many at risk of famine, as Khartoum says foreign backing for its rivals is prolonging the conflict.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohieddin Salem said the decision followed what he described as a “drone attack” against Khartoum International Airport, saying the attack “was launched from inside Ethiopian territory.”
On Monday, the Sudanese army, through its spokesperson Brig. Gen. Asim Awad Abdelwahab, said it was ready to enter an open confrontation with Addis Ababa after accusing it of involvement in drone attacks that targeted facilities and military sites in the capital, Khartoum.
Abdelwahab told a press conference that Sudan had documented evidence proving the UAE and Ethiopia’s involvement in the aggression against Sudan, which he said amounted to a serious violation of its sovereignty and a breach of international law.
He added that, starting in March, three drones took off from Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar airport on hostile sorties. On March 17, Sudanese air defenses downed one of the drones, and analysis of its data showed it was owned by the UAE, had been used from inside Ethiopian territory, and had attacked sites in North and South Kordofan, he said.
Another drone had taken off from the same airport on May 1 and targeted Khartoum airport and other areas before being intercepted, he said, adding that the two countries had committed direct aggression against Sudan that would not be met with silence.
The attack on Khartoum airport came a week after it resumed operations following the outbreak of the US-Iran war. The airport had been shut down for three years as a result of Sudan’s civil war, initially reopening on Feb. 1. The Ministry of Information said no injuries or damage had been recorded at the airport and that work had resumed after safety procedures were completed.
While the UAE had not commented by the time of writing, Addis Ababa rejected the Sudanese accusations. Ethiopia said that, in recognition of the “fraternal ties between the two nations,” its government had refrained from publishing “the grave violations of [its] territorial integrity and national security” committed by some parties to the Sudanese civil war.
In a Foreign Ministry statement, Ethiopia said the violations included “the extensive use” of mercenaries affiliated with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front in the conflict, and the Sudanese Armed Forces’ provision of “arms and financial support” to them, which facilitated their “incursions along Ethiopia’s western frontier.”
“These hostile acts, as well as the recent and earlier series of allegations by officials of Sudanese Armed Forces, are undertaken at the behest of external patrons seeking to advance their own nefarious agenda,” the statement added.
Egypt condemned the targeting of Khartoum airport “in the strongest terms” in a Foreign Ministry statement, calling it a flagrant violation of Sudan’s sovereignty and a threat to the safety of civilian facilities and the assets of the Sudanese people. It said the attack was a dangerous escalation that further complicates the security and humanitarian situation in Sudan and obstructs serious efforts to reach a humanitarian truce.
Egypt expressed deep concern, condemnation and dismay over the increasing pace of attacks reportedly launched from the territory of a neighboring country, warning that they could broaden the conflict and extend its repercussions into the regional environment. It affirmed its rejection of all forms of foreign interference in Sudanese affairs, the need to respect Sudan’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and full commitment to the policy of good neighborliness in line with international law and the principles of the UN Charter, which prohibit interference in states’ internal affairs.
Sudan accuses the UAE of supporting the Rapid Support Forces in the country’s ongoing war, which has killed tens of thousands, forced millions to flee their homes and left many facing the risk of famine. The UAE categorically denies the accusations, describing the case as a “political theater” and a “cynical publicity stunt.”
In May 2025, the Sudanese government decided to cut diplomatic ties with the UAE and declared it a hostile state.
The International Court of Justice had rejected Sudan’s case against the UAE over “violation of the Genocide Convention through support for paramilitary forces in Darfur.” The court said it had no jurisdiction to take disciplinary measures against the UAE, and its judges voted to end the case.
