Ethiopia and UAE deny involvement in Sudan airport attack

Addis Ababa has dismissed the allegations as baseless, while Abu Dhabi described them as a fabrication aimed at prolonging the war

Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have denied accusations by Sudan’s government that they were involved in Monday’s drone strikes on Khartoum International Airport.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohieddin Salem and military spokesperson Asim Awad Abdelwahab said on Tuesday that they had “conclusive evidence” that multiple airstrikes targeting key sites across the capital originated from Bahir Dar airport in Ethiopia. The officials also presented technical data claiming that a UAV marked S88 and allegedly linked to the UAE had been tracked crossing into Sudanese airspace from Ethiopian territory. Khartoum later recalled its ambassador in Addis Ababa in response to the incident.

In a statement issued by its Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, Addis Ababa dismissed the claims as “baseless” and accused “some belligerents” in Sudan’s civil war of committing “grave violations” of Ethiopia’s territorial integrity and national security.

“These violations include among others the extensive use of TPLF mercenaries in the conflict,” the ministry stated.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is a political and armed movement from Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region that dominated the East African country’s ruling coalition for decades before being sidelined in 2018. It waged a brutal two-year war against Ethiopia’s federal government from 2020 to 2022, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions.

READ MORE: Sudan accuses Ethiopia and UAE of drone strike

The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said the Sudanese Armed Forces has provided “arms and financial support” to TPLF fighters to facilitate their incursions.

“It is evident that these hostile actions, as well as the recent and earlier series of allegations by officials of Sudanese Armed Forces, are undertaken at the behest of external patrons seeking to advance their own nefarious agenda,” the ministry said.

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A UAE official cited by Reuters described Sudan’s allegations as a “fabrication” and part of a “calculated pattern of deflection – shifting blame to others to evade responsibility for their own actions,” saying that they were intended to prolong the war and obstruct a genuine peace process.

Sudan’s war erupted in April 2023 between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.

Khartoum has repeatedly accused Abu Dhabi of backing the RSF – allegations the Emirati government denies.