The Sudanese government has accused Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates of being behind recent drone attacks, including a strike on Khartoum airport. Military spokesperson Brigadier General Asim Awad Abdelwahab told a news conference on Tuesday that Sudan’s government, which has recalled its ambassador from Ethiopia, had obtained evidence of four drone attacks since March 1 originating from neighboring Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar airport. It claims the UAE provided the drones used in the attacks.
“What Ethiopia and the UAE have done is direct aggression against Sudan and won’t be met with silence,” Abdelwahab said. Foreign Minister Mohieddin Salem said that while Khartoum will not initiate attacks against other countries, “whoever attacks us will be met with a response”, and that Sudan was ready to “enter into an open confrontation” with Ethiopia “if it becomes necessary”.
His comments came following a strike on Monday at the airport in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. Previous attacks have been launched towards the Sudanese states of Kordofan, Blue Nile and White Nile. A drone attack on Saturday on Omdurman, Sudan’s second-largest city, killed five people travelling on a civilian bus, while another attack the following day in the central Sudan state of Gezira killed relatives of Abu Agla Kaikal, a commander with the Sudan Shield Forces, a group allied with the Sudanese military.
Drone attacks have been frequent since Sudan descended into a bloody civil war on April 15, 2023, the result of a power struggle between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Khartoum was considered largely safe until the recent strikes. Khartoum International Airport, which saw early fighting, received its first international flight in three years last week before the attacks shattered the calm.
On Tuesday, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected Sudan’s “baseless accusations” and blamed its army for supporting “mercenaries” from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). “Sudan is serving as a hub for various anti-Ethiopian forces,” the ministry wrote on X. The statement added it was “evident that these hostile actions are undertaken at the behest of external patrons”.
Sudan and Ethiopia have long been embroiled in armed conflict over disputed farmland in the al-Fashaga region. Ethiopia’s construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile has also fueled tensions with Sudan and Egypt. Alan Boswell, Horn of Africa director at the International Crisis Group, said the reciprocal accusations are creating a dangerous dynamic, risking worsening internal challenges in both countries.
Sudan has accused the UAE of providing support to RSF paramilitaries during the civil war, a charge the Gulf state denies. An unnamed UAE official told AFP: “These fabrications are part of a calculated pattern of deflection.” However, Abdelwahab said the government had “conclusive evidence” from data recovered from a drone shot down in el-Obeid that UAE-made drones had been launched from Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar airport.
Rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have also accused the UAE of arming the RSF. Observers argue the UAE’s alleged involvement could serve Abu Dhabi’s desire to expand influence across the Red Sea and East Africa. Boswell noted that Sudan’s General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed are being “emboldened by outside backers” but have previously shown ability to de-escalate.
Source: www.aljazeera.com