“The Government of Sudan has been monitoring, throughout February and into early March, the ongoing unauthorized entry of unmanned aircraft (drones) from inside Ethiopian territory into Sudanese airspace, targeting locations within Sudan,” the Sudanese foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Sudan firmly condemns and rejects this behavior, considering it a clear violation of its sovereignty and a direct act of aggression against the Sudanese state,” the statement added. “The Government of Sudan warns the Ethiopian authorities against continuing these hostile acts, affirming its sovereign right to defend its territory and unity. It pledges to respond to these violations by all necessary means and methods.”

The strikes come amid Sudan’s nearly three-year-long civil war, in which the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia has been fighting the Sudanese government and its armed forces.

Since April 2023, the UN has described the conflict as a “war of atrocities,” with tens of thousands killed and millions displaced, creating the world’s largest hunger crisis.

For more than a year, the RSF besieged the North Darfur capital, El-Fasher, before storming it late last year. A UN fact-finding mission said RSF atrocities there bore the “hallmarks of genocide,” including summary executions, systematic sexual violence, and mass detentions, primarily targeting the city’s ethnic Zaghawa population.

Since El-Fasher fell, fighting has spread deeper into neighboring Kordofan, where drone strikes have reportedly killed dozens at a time. Efforts to secure a ceasefire have repeatedly collapsed.

Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, vowed this week to fight “until the end” and outlined plans to build a “smart army” focused on technology and research. Talks mediated by the Quad—the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt—have stalled for months, though Sudan reportedly reviewed a ceasefire proposal in January.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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