Sudan’s Army Claims It Shot Down a Drone Crossing From Ethiopia and Retook Bakouri in Blue Nile

Sudan’s army says its air defences shot down a “hostile strategic drone” near Bakouri in Blue Nile state on the morning of Thursday 22 October 2026, after tracking it from where it crossed the border from Ethiopia. The claim has not been independently verified. The army did not say who operated the drone or what type it was.

On the same day the army’s 4th Infantry Division said it had retaken Bakouri and Akleili from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N). Neither group had responded to that claim in the reports reviewed by DefenceMENA.

What the army claims

Army spokesman Asim Awad announced the shoot-down in a statement, the Sudan News Agency (SUNA) and Anadolu Agency reported. SUNA said the drone “had been tracked from the moment it crossed the border from the direction of Ethiopia”. No model, target or wreckage details were given, and the reports reviewed included no images of debris. Sudan Now described the aircraft as a long-range drone and said no independent evidence of its origin or operator was immediately available.

In a separate statement, the 4th Infantry Division said its forces had recaptured the two areas and inflicted “heavy losses” in personnel and equipment, without giving figures. Bakouri lies in Geissan locality, about 70 kilometres south-east of Ed Damazin, and hosts a base of the army’s 13th Infantry Brigade, according to Anadolu. Akleili is on the road linking Kurmuk with Ed Damazin, the state capital. The RSF and SPLM-N announced on 28 August that they had taken Bakouri.

Earlier in the week the army said it had repelled attacks on Al-Baraka and Sali. Sudan Now reported that the division claimed to have captured 15 combat vehicles and destroyed five more at Sali; that claim has not been verified either.

Second such claim in 11 days

This is the second time this month that the army has said it shot down a drone entering Blue Nile from Ethiopia. On 12 October its General Command said air defences had brought down a “hostile” strategic drone near Wad al-Mahi the previous evening, again without naming an operator, Anadolu reported. DefenceMENA covered that claim in its report on the Ed Damazin drone strikes.

At the UN Security Council on 16 October, Sudan’s ambassador said drones launched from neighbouring countries had struck Blue Nile. Ethiopia rejected the allegations as baseless, as DefenceMENA reported in Sudan and Ethiopia trade drone and arms-smuggling accusations at the UN. DefenceMENA found no Ethiopian statement on the 22 October claim at the time of publication.

Civilian toll of the drone war

The claims come as the UN human rights office reported on 23 October that drone strikes across Sudan had killed at least 306 people in the first three weeks of October. It attributed the strikes to both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, with incidents in Kordofan, Darfur, Blue Nile and Khartoum, UN News reported. They include a strike on 9 October attributed to the RSF that killed at least 31 people at a displacement site near Abu Shendi in Blue Nile. In the disputed Abyei area, the 19 October strike on Amiet market killed more than 80 people, according to the UN.

Status of the claims

• Drone shot down near Bakouri on 22 October: CLAIMED SHOT DOWN (Sudanese army statement; no imagery or independent confirmation; operator and type not stated).
• Recapture of Bakouri and Akleili: claimed by the Sudanese army; not independently verified; no RSF/SPLM-N response found.

Sources

• SUNA: Armed Forces shoot down enemy strategic drone near Bakouri in Blue Nile (22 October 2026)
• Anadolu Agency: Sudanese army retakes 2 strategic areas in Blue Nile state, downs drone (22 October 2026)
• Sudan Now: Sudan army says it retook Bakori, Okleli and downed drone in Blue Nile (22 October 2026)
• Anadolu Agency: Sudanese army says it shot down hostile drone near Ethiopian border (12 October 2026)
• UN News: Sudan: drone strikes killed at least 306 people in three weeks (23 October 2026)