The Sudanese government’s allegations that Ethiopia is behind a deadly wave of unmanned aerial assaults belie a deep and longstanding rift between the two countries, which threatens to intensify internal conflicts in both. Sudan has officially lodged complaints with the United Nations Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council over allegations that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary – which has been at war with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since April 2023 – is using Ethiopian territory to launch attacks against civilian sites, including power stations. Ethiopia’s alleged support for the RSF has triggered differences within the SAF on how to respond next, Sudanese border affairs specialist Abdul Kareem Al-Almin Ahmed told Al Jazeera.
Suspected RSF drone attacks have heavily damaged civilian infrastructure in SAF-controlled areas. More than 90 percent of power stations in Sudanese cities have been rendered out of service due to drone attacks, and al-Almin said the technological capabilities of these weapons indicate significant external backing. A detailed report prepared by the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs alongside military intelligence claimed that 70 separate assaults involving 187 one-way attack drones were launched from Ethiopian territory between February and October.
The frequency of these attacks seems to be increasing, with 28 attacks carried out by 97 drones in October. The use of armed drones has been catastrophic for civilians in Sudan, with 13 million people already displaced and thousands at risk of famine due to the war. Between February 15 and October 27, drone attacks killed 176 Sudanese soldiers and 484 civilians, according to a report compiled by the Transitional Sovereignty Council, which is linked to the de facto Sudanese leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the SAF.
It identified Asosa Airport in western Ethiopia, the Kurmuk-Gizen border area, and the Bahir Dar airbase in Amhara as specific launch sites for drone attacks. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday he was appalled by the use of drones in the war and condemned the catastrophic toll this was having on civilians. A drone attack on displaced families in Wad el-Mahi, near the Ethiopian border on October 3, killed 26 women and four children.
Another drone attack in Nyala, in Sudan’s Darfur region, on October 26 killed at least 21 people and injured at least 40. The Sudanese military has repeatedly accused the Ethiopian government of aiding the RSF. Addis Ababa denies the claims and has in turn accused the Sudanese government of backing rebels linked to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.
The tensions between Sudan and Ethiopia extend beyond these drone attacks and allegations of support for rebel groups. They also involve a confrontation over water resources and strategic regional alliances. There have been ongoing tensions between Sudan and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), built by Addis Ababa on the Nile River.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
