Sudan’s armed forces have accused the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia of carrying out a drone attack targeting Khartoum airport, as a renewed wave of strikes shattered months of relative calm in the capital nearly three years into the civil war.
The Sudanese military said Monday’s attack was part of a broader barrage of drone strikes in recent days. Reuters was unable to independently verify the claims, and neither the UAE nor Ethiopia immediately commented.
Sudan has repeatedly accused the UAE of backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a charge the Gulf state denies. Earlier this year, it also accused Ethiopia of involvement in the conflict.
Residents told Reuters that strikes since Friday had hit both military positions and civilian areas in Khartoum, where people, government ministries and international agencies had begun returning after the army reasserted control of the city in March.
Witnesses said Monday’s drone attack struck Khartoum International Airport, the site of some of the earliest clashes between the army and the RSF in April 2023. The airport had received its first international flight in three years just last week.
An army spokesperson said authorities had evidence that drones involved in attacks across several states since March had taken off from Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar airport. He said a drone downed in mid-March was linked to both Ethiopia and the UAE, adding that another drone launched from the same location was connected to Monday’s strike. He warned the alleged actions would not go unanswered.
Khartoum International Airport has been repeatedly affected since Sudan’s war began in April 2023, when fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces first erupted at the site, forcing its closure and grounding civilian aircraft.
Throughout 2023 and 2024, the airport sustained damage from shelling and air strikes as control of the capital shifted back and forth. In March 2025, Sudan’s armed forces said they had regained control of the area, allowing limited assessments and preparations for reopening. The airport received its first international flight in three years last week, but Monday’s drone attack again highlighted its vulnerability.
Residents, speaking anonymously, said they believed the RSF was responsible for the latest attacks. The group has not commented.
Sudan’s information ministry said no one was injured in the airport incident and that operations would resume after routine safety checks.
Drone warfare has become a central feature of the conflict, which the United Nations has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed by violence, hunger and disease, and millions have been displaced.
Over the weekend, drones struck the neighbouring city of Omdurman, as well as al-Obeid to the west and Kenana to the south. At least five civilians were killed when a drone hit a bus in southern Omdurman on Saturday, according to an activist group.
The UN refugee agency said transport costs to Sudan had more than doubled after the Iran war disrupted shipping routes and drove up fuel prices and insurance premiums.
Aid previously shipped via the Strait of Hormuz is now being rerouted through Jordan and Oman, while sailing around the Cape of Good Hope would add weeks to delivery times.
Relations between Sudan and the UAE have deteriorated further after Emirati prosecutors referred Sudan’s army chief of staff and other defendants to a state security court over an alleged attempt to move ammunition through UAE territory to the Sudanese military.
The UAE said millions of rounds of ammunition were intercepted before transfer, while Sudan’s armed forces have previously rejected similar allegations as fabricated. The war, driven by a power struggle between the army and the RSF, continues across several fronts despite shifting territorial control.
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