Sudan Accuses Ethiopia of Providing a Launch Route for RSF Drone Attacks as Power Infrastructure Comes Under Pressure
Sudan's government has filed complaints with the United Nations Security Council and the African Union's Peace and Security Council, accusing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of using Ethiopian territory to launch drone attacks on Sudanese infrastructure, including electricity facilities. On November 3, Sudan's military also said its air defenses intercepted a drone that entered the southeastern Blue Nile region from the direction of Ethiopia. Ethiopia had not publicly responded to the latest allegations, and the RSF had not commented on them. Publicly available information has not independently established where the drones were launched or who supplied them.
Sudan Tribune reported that RSF drones had repeatedly targeted electricity infrastructure over the previous week, damaging distribution and transformer stations in several states. On November 2, attacks hit the Aroma and Halfa El Jadida electricity distribution facilities in Kassala State, while another strike damaged a facility near Merowe in the north. Earlier attacks had caused outages affecting hospitals, water stations, bakeries and residential areas.
The Associated Press has reported that Sudan's electricity network has been repeatedly damaged during the war, leaving the Merowe Dam as one of the country's most important remaining sources of power. Outages affect more than household lighting. They disrupt dialysis services, blood banks, medicine storage, water supplies, irrigation and commercial activity. Those interruptions deepen the economic pressure on communities already struggling with displacement, insecurity and high prices.
Sudan's Foreign Ministry says it submitted documents to the United Nations and the African Union alleging that the RSF used Ethiopian territory to launch drones against civilian infrastructure. Al-Monitor reported that the Sudanese military said it had shot down a drone entering from Ethiopia in the Blue Nile region. The military did not identify the party behind the aircraft or its intended target, and Ethiopian authorities had not responded at the time of that report.
Al Jazeera cited a report prepared by Sudan's Foreign Ministry and military intelligence that alleged 70 separate attacks involving 187 one-way attack drones launched from Ethiopian territory between February and October. The same report said 28 attacks involving 97 drones took place in October. These figures come from the Sudanese government's allegations and its own report; they are not independently verified findings. Whether Ethiopia provided launch sites or directly participated remains a question requiring independent evidence.
The RSF has been fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since April 2023. The conflict has become a prolonged war with severe humanitarian consequences. On October 31, the UN secretary-general's spokesperson condemned escalating drone attacks in Sudan, saying they had killed large numbers of civilians and damaged critical infrastructure, including health facilities. The United Nations urged all parties to protect civilians, stop attacks on civilian infrastructure and return to efforts toward a ceasefire and political negotiations.
The use of drones has expanded the geographic reach of the fighting and increased the risks facing power stations, markets, hospitals and water infrastructure. UN officials have previously warned that drone strikes are a major source of civilian casualties in Sudan. Damage to the electricity grid is therefore not merely a by-product of military operations; it also weakens hospitals, water systems and food supply chains.
Sudan's complaints have sharpened longstanding border and regional-security tensions between the two countries. A regional expert interviewed by Al Jazeera said there are divisions within Sudan's military over how to respond to Ethiopia's alleged involvement, with some voices calling for a tougher stance. There is, however, no evidence that Sudan has decided to take military action against Ethiopia.
If Ethiopia were shown to have allowed an armed group to use its territory to attack a neighbour, the consequences could be serious under diplomatic and international law. But until an independent investigation establishes the facts, Sudan's allegations should not be presented as settled fact. Key evidence would include drone wreckage, flight paths, launch locations and supply-chain records, ideally examined by the United Nations or another independent body.