UAE and Ethiopia blamed for drone attack on Khartoum airport
Updated
Updated · Reuters · May 4
UAE and Ethiopia blamed for drone attack on Khartoum airport
16 articles · Updated · Reuters · May 4
Sudan's army said evidence linked Monday's strike and earlier attacks since March 1 to drones launched from Ethiopia's Bahir Dar airport, while the airport reported no casualties or damage.
The assault ended months of relative calm after ministries, agencies and residents began returning to Khartoum, and came days after the airport received its first international flight in three years.
Weekend drone strikes also hit Omdurman, al-Obeid and Kenana; activists said one attack killed five bus passengers. The war with the RSF has created what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian disaster.
As drone strikes escalate, is Sudan the new testing ground for the future of modern warfare in Africa?
How has foreign military aid turned Sudan's civil war into a devastating international proxy conflict?
Amid a declared genocide and mass famine, why has the global humanitarian response for Sudan fallen so short?
May 2026 Khartoum Drone Strike: Sudan Accuses Ethiopia and UAE Amid Rising Civil War Toll
Overview
On May 4, 2026, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a drone attack on Khartoum International Airport, which was intercepted by Sudanese military air defenses but caused a brief disruption. In response, Sudan accused Ethiopia of allowing drone launches from its territory and the UAE of supporting the RSF financially and militarily, leading to a diplomatic crisis and increased military tensions along the Sudan-Ethiopia border. The RSF's growing drone warfare capabilities have challenged the Sudanese Armed Forces' air superiority and caused significant civilian casualties, worsening an already severe humanitarian crisis marked by displacement and famine. Regional proxy rivalries further heighten the risk of wider conflict escalation.