Sudan files complaints against Ethiopia with UN over deadly drone spree

What the report says

Sudan has filed complaints against Ethiopia with the United Nations Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, saying a wave of drone attacks has caused heavy civilian and military losses. In a statement cited by Al Jazeera, Sudan’s foreign ministry accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of using Ethiopian territory to launch attacks on civilian sites and power stations, allegations Ethiopia has denied. The filing comes amid Sudan’s civil war, which began in April 2023, and longstanding cross-border accusations between Khartoum and Addis Ababa over support for armed groups.

According to an army-led Sudanese report quoted by Al Jazeera, there were 70 attacks between February 15 and October 27 involving 187 one-way attack drones. The report said those strikes killed or wounded 484 civilians, along with 176 soldiers, and injured another 200 troops. It identified alleged launch areas in Ethiopia including Asosa Airport, the Kurmuk-Gizen border area and Bahir Dar airbase.

The report also highlighted a deadly October 9 strike in Wad el-Mahi in Sudan’s Blue Nile region, near the Ethiopian border, which it said killed 30 civilians, including women and children. Separately, the UN secretary-general’s spokesman condemned the escalating drone attacks in Sudan and said they were inflicting catastrophic harm on civilians. More broadly, the dispute adds to regional tensions around Sudan’s war and the use of drones in attacks on populated areas.