Sudan accuses Ethiopia of hosting drone attacks that killed and wounded hundreds; Ethiopia denies it
Sudan's government has accused Ethiopia of allowing drone attacks on Sudan to be launched from Ethiopian territory, including Bahir Dar air base and Asosa airport. Two Sudanese official counts differ: a Khartoum briefing on 28 October spoke of 162 attacks killing more than 400 civilians and 102 soldiers, while a Transitional Sovereignty Council report reported by AFP on Sunday documented 70 attacks between mid-February and late October that killed or wounded 484 civilians and killed 176 soldiers, with 200 more wounded. Neither count has been independently verified. Ethiopia denies the accusations and in turn accuses Sudan's army of backing Tigray-linked rebels, which Khartoum rejects; Sudan's Foreign Ministry said late on Sunday it has filed complaints against Ethiopia with the UN Security Council and the African Union's Peace and Security Council.
Checking in progress
This story is still being checked. Claims below are published as claims — never dressed as facts — and each one moves only when the evidence earns it.
- Collecting reportsDone
- Grouping the versionsDone
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5 of 8 claims checked so far · step 3 of 4: Checking claims
Key points
- Sudan's government told a Khartoum briefing on 28 October that drones striking Sudan were launched from Ethiopia, including Bahir Dar airport, and presented flight data, satellite images and drone fragments as its evidence.
- Khartoum's own figures come in two versions — the briefing's 162 attacks and 400-plus civilian dead, and a Sovereignty Council report's 70 attacks with 484 civilians killed or wounded and 176 soldiers killed — and neither is independently verified; both are labelled as such on this page.
- The accusation followed a week in which drone strikes disabled the Markhiyat power station and hit fuel and power sites in Gezira and Red Sea states.
- Ethiopia denies the accusations and counter-accuses Sudan's army of backing Tigray-linked rebels, which Khartoum rejects; Sudan says it will complain to the UN Security Council and the African Union. The UAE — accused in the October briefing — denies supporting the RSF.
What happened
Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been at war since April 2023, in what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Drones have become a central weapon: in the last week of October, strikes on electricity stations across army-held states repeatedly cut power, water and hospital services, and Khartoum — retaken by the army last year — has seen more than 1.8 million people return to a city still short of power and basic services.
Khartoum has accused Ethiopia and the UAE of backing the RSF before — in May it charged that drones used against Khartoum airport came from Ethiopia's Amhara region, which Addis Ababa dismissed. The 28 October briefing escalates that charge with a full campaign count and named launch sites, at a moment when Ethiopia is also receiving Russian Su-35 fighters and the two neighbours' border tensions are rising. Sudan says it is exercising 'strategic patience' while reserving the right to defend its territory. On Sunday the charge became a formal diplomatic fight: Ethiopia denied it and counter-accused Khartoum over Tigray-linked rebels, and Sudan announced complaints to the UN Security Council and the African Union.
Both sides, in their own words
Both sides heard. Neither believed for free. Publishing a side's version is not endorsing it — the claim checks below are where verdicts live.
Side A · Sudan's government and military
- Drones that struck Sudanese power stations and civilian sites were launched from Ethiopian territory, including Bahir Dar airport and sites at Assosa and along the border (officials at the 28 October Khartoum briefing, via Sudan Tribune, Dabanga and Anadolu).
- Khartoum's counts come in two official versions: the 28 October briefing's 162 attacks killing more than 400 civilians and 102 soldiers, and a Transitional Sovereignty Council report (via AFP) documenting 70 attacks from mid-February to late October — 187 one-way attack drones and 82 drone-fired munitions — that killed or wounded 484 civilians and killed 176 soldiers, wounding 200 more.
- Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Muawiya Osman Khalid called the alleged launches an Ethiopian-Emirati aggression, said Sudan is following a policy of 'strategic patience', and called on the international community to respond (via Radio Tamazuj and Sudan Tribune).
- Sudan says it will file complaints with the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council, reserving its right to self-defence under international law (via AFP).
Side B · Ethiopia and the UAE
- Ethiopia denies the accusations (reported by AFP on Sunday). It has also consistently rejected earlier rounds of the same charge as baseless.
- Ethiopia in turn accuses the Sudanese army of backing rebels linked to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) — an allegation Khartoum rejects (via AFP).
- Ethiopia has consistently rejected allegations of supporting the RSF or hosting attacks on Sudan as baseless and unfounded; in May it dismissed similar drone charges and pointed to the 'historic and enduring bond of friendship' between the two countries (its foreign ministry, via Addis Standard).
- The UAE denies supporting the RSF (reported by Addis Standard and Radio Tamazuj).
Independently verified
On Wednesday 28 October, officials from Sudan's defence, foreign affairs and information ministries and its General Intelligence Service told a briefing in Khartoum that drones striking Sudan had been launched from Ethiopian territory, presenting what they described as flight data, satellite imagery and fragments of intercepted drones. The accusation followed a week of drone strikes on Sudan's power network: a strike disabled the Markhiyat power station north-west of Omdurman on Tuesday 27 October, cutting power across the capital area, and further strikes hit a power station and fuel storage at El Manaqil in Gezira state and fuel sites and a pipeline linked to Bashayer Port in Red Sea state on Wednesday. Ethiopia's position: its authorities could not immediately be reached for comment on the 28 October accusations, and Ethiopia has consistently rejected allegations that it supports the RSF or hosts attacks on Sudan, calling them baseless. In May, after a similar accusation over drone attacks on Khartoum airport, Ethiopia's foreign ministry dismissed the charges and urged against inflammatory rhetoric, citing the two countries' historic friendship. On Sunday, Ethiopia denied the accusations, and in turn accused the Sudanese army of backing rebels linked to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) — an allegation Khartoum rejects. Sudan said it would file complaints with the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council, while reserving its right to self-defence under international law — and late on Sunday its Foreign Ministry said it had now filed those complaints, submitting documents it says show the RSF using Ethiopian territory to launch explosive-laden and missile-equipped drones against civilian facilities and vital infrastructure, following drone attacks on 13 electricity stations in Khartoum, Al-Jazira, Sennar and Al-Qadarif since last Monday. The ministry called the alleged use of Ethiopian territory a hostile act and a violation of the UN Charter; there was no immediate Ethiopian response to the filing itself. Sudanese analysts are split over the complaints Khartoum has now filed. Qureshi Awad questioned whether Sudan could establish a credible legal case, saying it had not provided sufficient evidence to prove where the drones were launched, and argued the complaint was primarily political — preparing the public for damage to essential services while deflecting attention from security and defence failures. Suhaib Hamid, by contrast, called the complaints a significant diplomatic step, saying detailed reports identifying alleged launch sites inside Ethiopia, alongside evidence of Addis Ababa's knowledge of the operations, could strengthen Sudan's position and prompt an international investigation or a Security Council response.Not yet verified
Khartoum's own counts come in two official versions that do not match. The 28 October briefing spoke of 162 drone attacks launched from Ethiopia — from Assosa, Bahir Dar and border sites — killing more than 400 civilians and 102 military personnel, and destroying dozens of schools, fuel stations, health centres and hospitals. A report by the army-led Transitional Sovereignty Council, reported by AFP on Sunday, documented 70 attacks between 15 February and 27 October, involving 187 one-way attack drones and 82 munitions fired from drones: those attacks killed or wounded 484 civilians, and killed 176 Sudanese soldiers and wounded 200 more. It named Asosa airport, the Kurmuk-Gizen border area and Bahir Dar air base as launch sites, said October alone saw 28 attacks, and recorded an attack on displaced families at Wad el-Mahi in Blue Nile state on 9 October that killed 30 civilians — 26 women and four children — and wounded 100. Sudan's defence minister, Hassan Daoud Kabroun, accused more than 20 countries of supporting the RSF with funding, drones, logistical assistance and foreign fighters, and Khartoum also accuses the United Arab Emirates of enabling the attacks. The UAE denies supporting the RSF. The strikes on the power network continued into the new week: on Sunday, drone strikes forced the Abu Hamad substation in River Nile state and the Al-Dabbah substation in Northern state out of service, and early on Monday drones hit the New Halfa and Aroma substations in eastern Kassala state, setting both ablaze and causing widespread outages across Kassala, witnesses and local sources told Anadolu Agency. Counts of the campaign differ by source: AP, citing the Emergency Lawyers monitoring group, puts 15 substations targeted since early October; Sudan Tribune counts 14 power stations over roughly two weeks across nine states; Anadolu puts 15 stations targeted in the past week alone.Claim by claim
Why this label: That the accusation was made, and in these terms, is reported consistently by Sudan Tribune (read via Addis Standard, in full), Dabanga, Radio Tamazuj and Anadolu. This verifies Khartoum's public position — it does not verify that the drones came from Ethiopia.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Both counts are the Sudanese state's, from two different official documents a few days apart, with different periods and methods — which is why they differ, and why neither is carried here as a settled toll. No independent body has verified either count, the launch sites or the drone types; Radio Tamazuj and Addis Standard both note the evidence presented could not be independently checked. War-casualty and attribution figures are therefore carried attributed and labelled, never as a Vozia-verified count.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why this label: The strikes on the power facilities are reported by Sudan Tribune and other regional outlets, and the Emergency Lawyers group separately condemned drone strikes on electricity and fuel installations on 27–28 October, attributing them to the RSF. What is verified here is that the facilities were struck — who launched those drones, and from where, is the disputed claim above.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Show all claims (5 more)
Why this label: This is Ethiopia's stated position, as reported by Addis Standard (an Ethiopian outlet, read in full) and Eastleigh Voice. It verifies what Addis Ababa says — including that it had not answered this specific briefing at the time of reporting — not the underlying facts, which remain unverified either way.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The denial, the counter-accusation and the complaints are each side's stated position: the plan was reported by AFP (read in full via live-browser recovery), and the filing itself is Sudan's Foreign Ministry statement as reported by Anadolu and Africa Press, both read in this run. This verifies what each government says and that Khartoum says the complaints are filed — not the underlying charges, which remain unverified in both directions.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The 20-countries claim was made in a Sudan News Agency interview in which, Addis Standard notes, Kabroun named no countries beyond Ethiopia and the UAE and provided no evidence. The UAE's denial is its stated position. Neither the support claims nor the denial is independently established here.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why this label: The Sunday Abu Hamad and Al-Dabbah strikes are reported by both AP and Sudan Tribune (read via a joint summary of the two reports in this pass); the Monday New Halfa and Aroma strikes rest on Anadolu Agency's witnesses and local sources, read in full via live browser, and had no second independent report when this page was updated — so the new strikes stay Not yet verified, and the three running totals (15 since early October / 14 in two weeks / 15 in one week) are carried side by side, not merged into one figure. Who launched the drones is attributed by Sudanese authorities and local monitors to the RSF; that attribution has not been independently established, and the RSF generally does not comment on such accusations.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why this label: Both are stated positions given to Dabanga, Sudan's independent news service (reported via AllAfrica, 2 November, read in full in this pass). They are expert assessments of Khartoum's case, carried as positions, not as findings; the underlying launch-origin question remains in this page's don't-know list.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- Sudan's government publicly accused Ethiopia on 28 October, with named launch sites, an attack count and a toll, and showed what it called supporting evidence.
- Drone strikes did hit Sudanese power and fuel facilities in the week of the briefing, including the Markhiyat station serving the capital.
- Ethiopia denies this round of accusations and counter-accuses Khartoum over Tigray-linked rebels; the UAE denies supporting the RSF.
Show more (2)
- Sudan's Foreign Ministry said late on Sunday it has filed the promised complaints with the UN Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council, with documents attached (Anadolu; Africa Press).
- The power-network campaign did not end with the UN/AU complaints: substations at Abu Hamad and Al-Dabbah were forced out of service on Sunday and the New Halfa and Aroma substations in Kassala state were hit early on Monday, per AP, Sudan Tribune and Anadolu reports in this pass.
What we don't know yet
- Whether any of the drones were in fact launched from Ethiopian territory, and if so by whom and with whose knowledge — and whether Sudan's army backs Tigray-linked rebels, as Ethiopia charges.
- The true toll — Khartoum's two official counts (162 attacks in the briefing; 70 documented attacks in the Sovereignty Council report) differ in period and method, and neither is independently verified.
- What the UN Security Council or the African Union's Peace and Security Council will do with Sudan's filed complaints, and whether any international body will examine the flight data, imagery and fragments Sudan presented.
Show more (1)
- The campaign's true running total — AP/Emergency Lawyers say 15 substations since early October, Sudan Tribune counts 14 in about two weeks, and Anadolu says 15 in the past week; the counts cover different periods and have not been reconciled.
Why it matters
If drones are being launched into Sudan from a neighbour's airports, Sudan's civil war becomes a regional war — with Ethiopia, the UAE and potentially others as parties, not backers. If the charge is wrong, it still poisons relations between two of Africa's largest states at a moment of open border tension. Either way, the people under the strikes are Sudanese civilians whose power, water and hospitals are being switched off from the air, which is why the evidence — not the accusation alone — is what this page keeps asking for.
Background
Show the background timeline (4)
War breaks out in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary RSF; it becomes the world's largest displacement and humanitarian crisis.
Sudan accuses Ethiopia and the UAE of involvement in drone attacks on Khartoum airport and other strategic sites, saying drones came from Ethiopia's Amhara region. Ethiopia dismisses the charges as baseless.
Drone strikes disable the Markhiyat power station serving the capital and hit power and fuel sites in Gezira and Red Sea states; the Emergency Lawyers group condemns the strikes on electricity and fuel installations.
At a joint briefing in Khartoum, Sudanese defence, foreign, information and intelligence officials accuse Ethiopia of hosting 162 drone attacks and present flight data, satellite imagery and drone fragments.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Checking in progress — analysts split over the filed complaints (queue #1148): Dabanga's account of the complaints now before the UN Security Council and the AU adds the first named expert assessments — Qureshi Awad questioning whether Khartoum can prove the launch origins and calling the move primarily political, Suhaib Hamid calling it a significant diplomatic step — added as a new claim. The report's figures (187 drones in 70 attacks; Asosa and Bahir Dar named) were already on this page in the Sovereignty Council claim, so nothing was stacked. Video check: no official-channel video of the complaints was verified in this pass (circulating strike footage is social-media material Al Jazeera says it could not verify), so the story remains without a video.
Checking in progress — the grid campaign extends into Kassala (queue #895): Sunday strikes forced the Abu Hamad (River Nile) and Al-Dabbah (Northern) substations out of service (AP; Sudan Tribune), and early on Monday drones hit the New Halfa and Aroma substations in Kassala state, setting both ablaze with widespread outages across the state (Anadolu, witnesses and local sources, read in full via live browser). Added as one Not yet verified claim — the Monday strikes have a single reporting chain so far — with the three differing running totals (15 since early October / 14 in two weeks / 15 in one week) carried side by side, not stacked or merged. This story stays in Checking.
Checking in progress — Sudan's promised complaints are now filed: the Foreign Ministry said late on Sunday it has submitted complaints against Ethiopia to the UN Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council, with documents it says show RSF drones launching from Ethiopian territory, after attacks on 13 electricity stations across four states since last Monday (Anadolu; Africa Press). The existing claim is edited in place from plan to filing; Ethiopia had issued no response to the filing itself in the reports read. The underlying launch-origin charges stay Not yet verified. No official video was attached — no embeddable official video about this filing was verified via YouTube's oEmbed endpoint in this run.
Show earlier updates (2)
Updated after AFP's Sunday report was read in full: a second Sudanese official count (the Transitional Sovereignty Council's 70 documented attacks, with 484 civilians killed or wounded and 176 soldiers killed) was edited into the toll claim alongside the briefing's 162-attack figure, and Ethiopia's denial of this round, its Tigray counter-accusation and Sudan's plan to complain to the UN Security Council and the African Union were added. Headline and summary updated to match.
Published in Checking state: Khartoum's accusation is confirmed as made; its toll and launch-origin claims are labelled Not yet verified because the evidence behind them has not been independently examined. The page updates when Ethiopia responds to this briefing or an independent assessment of the evidence appears.