Sudan Accuses Ethiopia of Drone Strikes Across Border

By Al Mayadeen English

3 Mar 2026

Sudan's government has accused Ethiopia of allowing drone strikes to be launched from its territory amid growing regional involvement in Sudan's civil war.

Sudan's government has accused Ethiopia of enabling drone strikes against its territory, marking the first formal allegation of direct interference by Addis Ababa in the country’s nearly three-year war.

In a statement released Monday, Sudan’s foreign ministry said aerial attacks carried out in February and March originated “from inside Ethiopian territory,” describing the incidents as “clear aggression.” The ministry warned Ethiopian authorities of “the consequences of these hostile acts,” though it did not specify who conducted the strikes, how many occurred, or which locations were targeted.

Khartoum added that it had been monitoring the incursions over several weeks and characterized them as a “flagrant violation of Sudan’s sovereignty” and “a clear act of aggression against the Sudanese state.” 

The accusation is particularly sensitive given long-running tensions along the Sudan-Ethiopia border, especially in the disputed al-Fashaga region, where clashes have erupted intermittently in recent years.

War Fueled by External Support

Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The war has devastated large parts of the country, displaced millions and crippled essential infrastructure.

In February, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned that civilian killings had more than doubled this year.

“This war is ugly. It's bloody and it's senseless,” Volker Turk told the UN Human Rights Council, faulting both sides for rejecting humanitarian truces and criticizing foreign backers for financing what he described as a “high-tech” conflict.

Drone Warfare and Regional Spillover

The use of drones has become a defining feature of Sudan’s war. Investigations and satellite imagery  published by international outlets in recent months have indicated growing reliance on unmanned aerial systems, including operations linked to RSF-held territory in Darfur. Analysts say such systems have increased the conflict’s reach and lethality.

A report by the US-based Critical Threats Project recently cited Sudanese officials accusing the United Arab Emirates of increasing weapons transfers since November 2025  to Ethiopia intended for the RSF. 

Burhan, for his part, is widely regarded as benefiting from support from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, reinforcing concerns that Sudan’s war has become entangled in broader regional rivalries.

The fear of spillover is no longer theoretical. Chad announced in late February that it had closed its border with Sudan following deadly cross-border violence involving fighters linked to the conflict. International observers have warned that continued external involvement and advanced weapon flows risk transforming Sudan’s civil war into a destabilizing regional crisis.

If substantiated, Sudan’s allegation that drone attacks originated from Ethiopian territory could further strain relations in the Horn of Africa and complicate already fragile diplomatic efforts to contain one of the continent’s most destructive conflicts.