Sudan Says 162 Drone Attacks Were Launched From Ethiopia, Naming Asosa and Bahir Dar as Bases
Sudan’s government says drones launched from Ethiopian territory have carried out 162 attacks on Sudan, killing more than 400 civilians and 102 military personnel, and has named Asosa and Bahir Dar as launch sites. The figures were presented by Sudanese military, intelligence and ministry officials in Khartoum on 28 October 2026 and have not been independently verified. Ethiopia has previously rejected the accusation as baseless.
What Khartoum presented
The briefing was held at a Sudan News Agency (SUNA) seminar attended by senior military and intelligence officers and undersecretaries from the foreign affairs and information ministries, according to Dabanga and Anadolu Agency. Janes reported that the slides were badged as a joint product of Sudan’s General Intelligence Service and the Military Intelligence Directorate.
Officials gave the headline toll of 162 attacks, according to Dabanga. Janes, which reviewed the slides, said they listed 64 incidents between 15 February and 27 October 2026 in which drones were launched from Ethiopia, with several incidents involving more than one target. Sudan did not explain how the two figures relate.
The targets named included Ed Damazin, El Mazmum, Sennar, Kosti, Rabak, Belong, Kurmuk, Dinder, Wad El Mahi, El Obeid, Abu Oileila, Bara and Umm Rawaba, and officials said dozens of schools, fuel stations, health centres and hospitals had been destroyed, Dabanga reported.
Asosa and Bahir Dar
Officials said the drones flew from bases at Asosa, in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region near the Blue Nile border, from Bahir Dar further north, and from points along the border, following flight paths that ran alongside South Sudan.
According to Janes, a small majority of the incidents involved what the Sudanese Armed Forces call “strategic drones”, meaning medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) aircraft that need a runway. Where a runway was identified, the slides named Asosa in all but two cases. The two exceptions were flights from Bahir Dar that ended when the aircraft were shot down on 17 and 23 May 2026. Both were identified as Turkish-made Bayraktar Akıncı drones.
Officials also listed Chinese-made drones, the Bayraktar TB2 and modified one-way attack (“kamikaze”) drones among the types used, and said Sudanese forces had shot down Akıncı and CH-95 aircraft. Janes said the remains of a previously undocumented type of one-way attack drone were displayed at the press conference. None of the shoot-down claims has been independently confirmed; we examined earlier claims in what is confirmed on the Akıncı and CH-95 shoot-down claims.
Ethiopia does operate both Turkish types. Its fleet is covered in our guide to Ethiopia’s military drones. Sudan’s presentation does not establish who was flying the aircraft it describes.
“Strategic patience”
Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Muawiya Osman Khalid called the alleged launches “a dangerous development that could undermine security and stability in the region,” CGTN and Anadolu reported. He said Sudan was following a policy of “strategic patience” but reserved the right to defend itself “by all legitimate means,” and urged the international community and international justice institutions to act. Khalid said he distinguished between the Ethiopian government and the Ethiopian people.
Separately, Defence Minister Hassan Daoud Kabroun told SUNA that more than 20 countries were supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with logistics, mercenaries, funding and drones, Dabanga reported. He did not name them in the reports reviewed.
Ethiopia’s position
Addis Ababa has denied supporting the RSF and says it respects Sudan’s sovereignty. No new Ethiopian government response to the 28 October briefing had been published in the reports reviewed by Defence Mena. When Sudan raised the drone launches at the UN Security Council on 16 October, Ethiopia’s ambassador called them “a baseless accusation” and said evidence of Sudanese arms smuggled into Ethiopia would be published; see Sudan and Ethiopia trade drone and arms-smuggling accusations at the UN.
Why it matters now
The briefing followed a wave of drone strikes on Sudan’s power grid in army-held areas. Anadolu said drones hit six electricity stations in Khartoum, Gezira, Sennar and Gedaref on 28 October, two days after the strikes on five power stations that we reported in drone strikes black out Sudan’s southeastern grid. Sudanese officials said the attacks were meant to stop displaced people returning home, particularly to Khartoum.
Blue Nile state, which borders Asosa, is also an active front. On 22 October the army said it had shot down a drone that crossed from Ethiopia near Bakouri, as covered in Sudan’s army claims a drone shot down near Bakouri. For the balance of forces inside Sudan, see Sudan’s military strength in 2026 and drones in the Sudan war.
Sources
- Dabanga, “Sudan accuses Ethiopia of launching 162 drone attacks from its territory”, 29 October 2026.
- Janes, “Sudan claims numerous UAV attacks launched from Ethiopia”, Jeremy Binnie, 30 October 2026.
- Anadolu Agency, “Sudan accuses Ethiopia of allowing drone attacks to be launched from its territory”, 29 October 2026.
- CGTN Africa, “Sudan accuses drone attacks to alleged activity in Ethiopia”, 29 October 2026.
- Sudan News Agency (SUNA) seminar and briefing, Khartoum, 28 October 2026, as reported by the outlets above.
