Khartoum accuses Ethiopia and UAE of complicity in airport drone attack

Sudan has recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia , accusing the country of involvement in a drone attack targeting the airport in the capital, the official news agency SUNA reported Tuesday.

A military source told AFP that Sudanese air defences downed drones that targeted Khartoum airport on Monday, 4 April, while witnesses confirmed hearing blasts and seeing smoke rise from an area nearby.

Drone attacks by both Sudan’s army, headed by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan , and paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’ Dadalo , which have been at war since April 2023 , have intensified across the country in recent months.

The Sudanese military accused RSF in March of launching drone attacks “from inside Ethiopian territory”, the first public allegation of Ethiopian involvement in the conflict.

Mohieddin Salem, the Sudanese army-aligned government’s foreign minister, “announced the recall of Sudan’s ambassador to Ethiopia for consultations regarding the UAE-Ethiopia drone attack on Khartoum International Airport on Monday,” SUNA quoted Salem as saying in a statement.

The UAE has been widely accused of arming the RSF , but has repeatedly denied the allegations .

Salem “stated that it has been conclusively proven that the attack originated from Ethiopia, a country that is supposed to be a sister nation”, SUNA reported.