Drones shatter months of relative calm in Sudan’s capital as international airport targeted

On Monday, drone attacks targeted Khartoum International Airport — the site where some of the earliest fighting erupted between Sudan's military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023. The assault shattered months of relative calm in Sudan's capital, three years into a devastating civil war. Witnesses reported strikes hitting both military targets and civilian areas, just as the city had begun to see a tentative return of people, ministries, and international agencies since the army retook control in March 2025. The airport's gradual reopening last year and its first international flight last week had been seen as key milestones in restoring normal life.

Sudan's armed forces spokesman Brigadier General Asim Awad Abdelwahab directly blamed the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia for the attacks, claiming evidence from a drone downed in mid-March linked it to Ethiopia's Bahir Dar airport and to the UAE. He said another drone launched from the same airport was used in Monday's assault. Sudan has long accused the UAE of supporting the RSF paramilitaries, a charge the Gulf state denies, and had accused Ethiopia of involvement earlier this year. Reuters could not independently verify the claims, and neither country immediately commented. The renewed fighting risks derailing the fragile stability that had allowed international agencies and civilians to return to Khartoum.