Sudan accuses Ethiopia of hosting 162 drone attacks that it says killed more than 400 civilians
Sudan says 162 drone attacks launched from Ethiopia killed over 400 civilians and 102 soldiers. The claims are unverified; Ethiopia denies backing the RSF.
At a glance
- Sudanese officials said on October 29, 2026 that 162 drone attacks had been launched from Ethiopian territory, killing more than 400 civilians and 102 military personnel.
- They named bases at Assosa and Bahir Dar as launch sites and listed 13 Sudanese towns and cities as targets.
- The figures come only from Sudan's government and have not been independently verified.
- Ethiopia has previously rejected claims that it supports the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as unfounded.
Sudan's government has accused neighbouring Ethiopia of allowing 162 drone attacks to be launched from its territory, saying they killed more than 400 civilians and 102 military personnel. The allegations were presented at a briefing on Thursday, October 29, 2026, attended by senior military and intelligence officers and undersecretaries from the foreign and information ministries. The figures come from one side of the war and have not been independently verified.
Ethiopia has previously rejected accusations that it supports the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary force fighting Sudan's army, calling them unfounded. No new Ethiopian response to the 162-attack figure had been published by Friday.
What Sudan is claiming, piece by piece
| Claim | What officials said |
|---|---|
| Number of attacks | 162 launched from Ethiopian territory |
| Deaths | More than 400 civilians, 102 military personnel |
| Alleged launch sites | Bases at Assosa and Bahir Dar, and locations along the border |
| Alleged flight paths | Running alongside South Sudan |
| Aircraft named | Modified kamikaze drones, Chinese-made long-range drones, Turkish-made Bayraktar Akinci and TB2 |
| Evidence cited | Drone fragments, satellite imagery, flight-path coordinates |
| Damage | Dozens of schools, fuel stations, health centres and hospitals |
Sudan's forces also say they have shot down several drones, including Akinci and CH-95 models. None of this evidence has been published in a form that outside experts could test, and neither China nor Türkiye was reported to have commented.
The towns on the list
Officials named El Damazin, El Mazmum, Sennar, Kosti, Rabak, Belong, El Kurmuk, El Dinder, Wad El Mahi, El Obeid, Abu Oileila, Bara and Umm Rawaba as targets. Most of these lie in Blue Nile, Sennar, White Nile and North Kordofan, the belt of states between the Ethiopian border and the Kordofan front. Many had been far from the fighting until long-range drones made distance less protective.
Officials said the purpose of the strikes is to stop displaced families going home, particularly to Khartoum, which the army retook in 2025 and where people have been returning since.
Khartoum's "strategic patience"
Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Muawiya Osman Khalid said Sudan is following a policy of "strategic patience" and urged the international community to act. A separate Foreign Ministry statement blamed the RSF for escalating drone strikes on airports, power and water stations, hospitals and fuel depots, linked them to the first anniversary of the fall of El Fasher, and repeated its charge that Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates are complicit. The UAE has consistently denied arming the RSF.
Defence Minister Hassan Daoud Kabroun went further, telling the state news agency that more than 20 countries were helping the RSF with logistics, mercenaries, money or drones. He did not list them in the reports available.
Why the accusation raises the stakes
Sudan and Ethiopia have a long list of disputes already: the Al-Fashaga farmland on their border, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, and refugees moving in both directions. A formal claim that a neighbour's bases are being used for strikes takes the war a step closer to an open regional dispute, in a conflict that has already driven millions of people from their homes.
Drones are now killing large numbers of civilians far from the front lines. Earlier this week, a strike on a market in Nyala in South Darfur, an RSF-held city, left dozens dead, with a rights group saying more than 100 were killed. Both sides have been accused of hitting civilian targets.
What Khartoum has not done yet
Thursday's briefing did not announce any formal step, such as a complaint to the UN Security Council or the African Union, a break in relations or action against Ethiopian interests. Officials confined themselves to the appeal for international action. The next test is whether Khartoum files a complaint with its evidence, and whether Addis Ababa answers these specific figures.
Questions people are asking
Why is Sudan accusing Ethiopia of drone attacks?
Sudan's government says drones used by the RSF are being launched from bases in Ethiopia, citing fragments, satellite images and flight paths. Ethiopia has previously rejected such allegations, and the claims have not been independently verified.
