Sudan Nashra: Khartoum escalates against Ethiopia after RSF strikes traced to its territories | 15 killed in drone strike on home of military-allied commander | RSF buildup in Sudan-Libya-Egypt border triangle as military looks to open new route toward Darfur

Subscribe to our Lens on Sudan newsletter here . Shortly before midday on Monday, thick smoke rose over central Khartoum after a wave of drones strikes hit the international airport. Within 12 hours, Sudan recalled its ambassador to Addis Ababa, and senior government and military officials appeared before reporters in Khartoum to present what they called “documented evidence” linking Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates to the airport strike and a series of attacks dating back to March. Officials said drone-tracking data pointed to Emirati-owned aircraft launched from Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar airport in the Amhara region. For Khartoum, the strike on the airport appears to have been the breaking point after months of mounting tensions over Ethiopia’s quiet role in the war. Diplomatic and military sources told Mada Masr that Khartoum is now considering a broader escalation that could include taking Ethiopia before international forums, as it previously did with the UAE, alongside more aggressive military responses to future attacks traced to Sudan’s eastern neighbor. Addis Ababa quickly denied Sudan’s claims as baseless and countered with accusations of its own, saying the war in Sudan has violated Ethiopia’s territorial integrity and national security. Speaking to Mada Masr, two employees at the TBD airport ruled out the use of civilian airfield for launching drones. However, Amhara Fano National Movement spokesperson Asres Mare said the UAE has been using the federal government forces’ Western Command, just a few km from the airport, to store drone components, adding that a recent drone strike may have originated from its training ground. Other drone strikes — whose trajectories and origins military and government sources stress are being investigated — hit multiple military-held areas across Sudan this week, causing civilian casualties and infrastructure damage in Omdurman and White Nile State, and killing members of the family of a prominent military-allied commander in Gezira. Nine relatives of Sudan Shield Forces commander Abu Agla Keikel were killed when a drone struck his family residence in eastern Gezira, alongside six others who were inside the house. Among the dead was his brother, Azzam, a field commander in the force. The strike marks the second time Keikel’s home region has come under direct attack since his defection, along with his forces, from the Rapid Support Forces in late 2024. On the South Kordofan front, the military recaptured the Takma area east of Dalang along a key logistical corridor. But the RSF is continuing efforts to retake the area as part of preparations for yet another multi-front assault on the city from both the east and northwest, a military source told Mada Masr. Weeks of renewed ground operations by the RSF and the allied Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu , have so far failed to secure lasting gains or reimpose a siege on Dalang. In response, the two groups have increasingly turned to shelling and drone strikes against a city that had little to no chance of recovering after more than two years of siege and bombardment. Since late April, the attacks have escalated, inflicting casualties and further damaging an already collapsing healthcare system. Earlier this week, the Sudan Doctors Network sounded the alarm, saying that the sector is nearing total collapse. Medical sources confirmed that most of Dalang’s medical facilities are now out of service, while the few still operating are overwhelmed by severe shortages of supplies and equipment, unable to meet even daily medical needs, let alone cope with the growing number of casualties and critical cases. After months of relative deadlock across the Kordofan fronts, as the military seeks to break through toward Darfur, another military source said the Sudanese Armed Forces is now looking to open alternative routes into the western region. Large numbers of military-allied fighters have been withdrawn from Kordofan to Khartoum ahead of planned deployments to Northern State and efforts to enter Darfur through the desert or via the RSF-held Sudan-Egypt-Libya border triangle. An RSF source said the group had already sent more than 300 combat vehicles to the border area to counter any possible attack. *** Khartoum moves against Ethiopia after strikes traced to its territories Smoke rises from the Khartoum International Airport, May 4. Photo: Reuters. Around 11 am on Monday, thick smoke rose over the neighborhoods of Khartoum 2 and Emarat in the capital after a swarm of drones struck the adjacent Khartoum International Airport. Within hours of the strikes, Sudan recalled its ambassador to Addis Ababa, a Sudanese diplomatic source told Mada Masr. By midnight, the government had convened a joint press conference in the capital, during which military spokesperson Assem Awad presented what he described as “a set of documented evidence” of Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates’ involvement in the attacks. For Sudanese officials, the strike on the Khartoum airport appears to have been the breaking point after months of mounting tensions over Ethiopia’s quiet role in the war. The airport — once a major RSF stronghold and the site of some of the capital’s fiercest battles — had only resumed international flights little more than a week earlier. Diplomatic and military sources told Mada Masr that the rapid political fallout could see Sudan take Ethiopia before international forums, similar to its campaign against the UAE, alongside more aggressive military measures against future attacks traced to the eastern neighbor. During the press briefing, the military spokesperson listed a series of aerial offensives stretching back to March, targeting areas in the White Nile and Blue Nile states, Kordofan and, ultimately, Khartoum. Displaying flight-tracking data and debris from downed drones on a screen, Awad said the evidence indicated the aircraft were Emirati-owned and had been launched from Ethiopia’s Bahir Dar Airport in the Amhara region. Foreign Minister Mohie Eddin Salem spoke next, announcing that the ambassador to Ethiopia has been recalled “for consultations.” He stressed that Sudan has the right to respond to the aggression “that was supported by a supposedly brotherly nation” in the manner it deems fit, adding that it is “ready to enter into an open confrontation” if necessary. Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohie Eddin Salem speaking at a joint press conference with the military, May 5. Photo: Sudan News Agency via YouTube. Addis Ababa moved quickly to reject the accusations. In a statement on Tuesday, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry denied Sudan’s claims as baseless and countered with accusations of its own. It said the war in Sudan has violated Ethiopia’s territorial integrity and national security, but Addis Ababa has exercised restraint given the “historic and enduring bond of friendship” between the two peoples. “There is ample and credible evidence showing that Sudan is serving as a hub for various anti-Ethiopian forces,” the statement said. Addis Ababa reiterated its longstanding accusation that the Sudanese military “provided arms and financial support” to Tigray People’s Liberation Front fighters recruited as mercenaries in Sudan’s war, “thereby facilitating their incursions into Ethiopia’s western frontier.” Two employees at the Bahir Dar Airport in the capital of the Amhara region who spoke to Mada Masr ruled out the use of the civilian airfield as a launch point for drones. However, Amhara Fano National Movement spokesperson Asres Mare told Mada Masr that the UAE has, for several months, been using the Ethiopian National Defense Force’s Western Command to store military drone components. The facility is located just 8 km from the Bahir Dar Airport, Asres said, adding that a recent drone strike may have originated from the Western Command’s training ground. Once allied with Addis Ababa, the Amhara Fano rebelled against the federal government in 2023 in protest over plans to integrate Amhara fighters into the national military, and have since been engaged in an armed conflict in the region’s highlands. Some ENDF elements defected to the group in 2023. The drone the military traced to Ethiopia was intercepted, according to Awad, while the others landed on their targets, military and airport sources said. An administrative source in the airport said at least three missiles struck the airport’s main runway and maintenance hangars, while a suicide drone hit the eastern hall, a logistics hub. Simultaneously, a suicide drone struck a home in the nearby Burri area, causing significant damage and injuring a resident. Five suicide drones and a Bayraktar combat done were used in the attack, according to two senior military sources. One of the sources, an official at the General Command, added that air defense and jamming systems intercepted two drones. The targets, they said, included areas around the General Command and Airport Road. The fast-paced upheaval could be paired by a potential shift in how the Sudanese military responds to future attacks it monitors from Ethiopia. The General Command source said responses may now go beyond interception to targeting the platforms from which the attacks are launched. A field source likewise said that the use of the Bahir Dar Airport as a launch base “alters the rules of engagement” and could render such facilities legitimate targets under self-defense protocols. Coordination between air force and air defense units has been elevated to maximum levels along the eastern border, they added “Sudan’s patience has run out with the joint operation rooms coordinating cross-border aerial strikes,” a second Sudanese diplomatic source told Mada Masr. The next phase would involve a broader escalation aimed at containing regional involvement in the war, the first diplomatic source said, adding that Sudan no longer accepts what they called the “false neutrality” of neighboring states that allow their airports to be used by the RSF. Sudan had issued its first public warning to Addis Ababa in March, saying it had monitored drones entering Sudanese airspace from Ethiopia in February and March, warning against “the repercussions of these hostile acts.” Tensions had been building for weeks before, however. A senior military officer told Mada Masr in January that intelligence services uncovered three camps set up inside Ethiopia where thousands of fighters from the RSF and allied groups were being trained and armed. In the weeks that followed, military and security sources speaking to Mada Masr described instances where the RSF and the SPLM-N have gathered on or crossed from Ethiopia before launching attacks into Sudan’s Blue Nile region along the eastern border. A senior official in the Transitional Sovereignty Council told Mada Masr in March that TSC Chair Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had sought to hold direct talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed over developments along the border, but those efforts were unsuccessful. The government is now compiling a “comprehensive file” for submission to the United Nations and the Security Council to document the aerial incursions, a senior diplomatic source said. A military source informed of strategic operations said that, should Ethiopia continue to support the RSF, the military would consider moving beyond border security operations, declining to elaborate. Sudanese military assessments, according to the source, interpret the developments as an effort by Abiy to prolong the conflict, exhaust the state and fragment its armed forces, betting on opening “multiple fronts” to divert Sudan’s attention from critical water and border issues. At the heart of the border issues with Addis Ababa lies the Fashaga triangle, a fertile agricultural zone long contested by both sides. By 2020, the Sudanese military had taken over 95 percent of the Fashaga border triangle from Ethiopian forces, ending nearly 25 years of control by Ethiopian militias backed by the federal military. A former Sudanese diplomat who spoke to Mada Masr after the press conference expressed concern that Fashaga could be drawn into the conflict. Egypt and Saudi Arabia swiftly condemned the attack on the Sudanese capital on Tuesday. Cairo voiced  “deep concern over the rising pace of attacks reportedly launched from the territory of a neighboring country,” warning it could extend the war’s repercussions across the region. Riyadh likewise urged de-escalation and “called on Sudan’s neighboring countries to respect Sudan’s sovereignty and independence and to prevent their territories from being used as a launch point for these attacks.” Qatar and the Arab League ’s secretary general also issued statements of condemnation hours after the attack. *** Drone strike kills five people in Omdurman Technical vehicle belonging to the Sudanese military in Omdurman set ablaze following an RSF drone strike, May 1. Photo: @AfriMEOSINT via X. Two days before the airport strike, a drone attack killed five civilians in southern Omdurman on Saturday morning, when a civilian vehicle was hit west of the capital. According to a source in the Khartoum State governor’s office, the car was traveling along Gamuia Road when it was struck, killing all those inside instantly. A relative of the victims told Mada Masr that they had been traveling from the Sheikh al-Siddig area in White Nile State, around 90 km away. A military source said the attack is consistent with what they described as a recurring pattern of RSF drone strikes targeting non-military sites. Such strikes, the source argued, are intended to generate psychological pressure and destabilize civilian life. The military is continuing to track aerial activity and investigate the drone’s trajectory and origin, they added. The attacks followed a relative lull in airstrikes in the capital. A Cabinet source warned it could undermine the fragile stability Khartoum had recently begun to regain after the return of large numbers of residents and the gradual resumption of daily life. The governor’s office said it is working with relevant authorities to investigate the incident and enhance safety along major transport routes within the capital. *** RSF drones strike fuel facilities, Kenana industrial complex in White Nile RSF drone strike targets fuel tanker in Kosti, May 5. Photo: @Ivadleber via X. In White Nile State, a series of RSF drone strikes hit the Kenana industrial complex on Monday, followed on Tuesday by deadly strikes in Kosti that killed five civilians. The strikes follow a wave of drone attacks last week on Kosti, Rabak and the Kenana air base, resulting in civilian casualties. On Tuesday, a drone fired three missiles over Kosti, according to a field source. The first struck a fuel tanker near the Nile fuel station , killing five people and injuring others in a powerful explosion. A second missile targeted a camp belonging to the military-allied joint force of armed movements, while a third hit a tanker at the Nile fuel depot. The latter caused limited damage, as the facility was empty at the time, with one worker sustaining minor injuries, they said. An eyewitness in the Radeef neighborhood described scenes of panic among residents. They said loud explosions were followed by flames and thick smoke rising from the Nile station, as air defenses from Kosti’s 18th Infantry Division were seen pursuing the drone overhead. A day earlier, suicide drones struck the strategic Kenana area. A senior technical source at the Kenana Sugar Company said the drones hit the industrial complex, the country’s largest, targeting refining units and storage facilities. One drone struck near the power station, partially halting operations and sparking a fire that was later contained, they told Mada Masr. Aftermath of drone strike targeting the home of military-allied commander in the village of Kahli Zeidan, Um al-Qura locality, May 2. Photo: Addis Standard via Facebook. A resident of a nearby village said they heard loud explosions that shook their homes, as air defenses engaged the drones. According to a military source stationed near the Kenana military airport, the strike appeared to be aimed at disrupting the air base, which is adjacent to the factory. Several reconnaissance flights were detected at the same time of the attack over the open farmland surrounding the complex, they said, adding that air defenses in the area have been on maximum alert. *** 15 killed in drone strike on home of Sudan Shield Forces commander Aftermath of drone strike targeting the home of military-allied commander in the village of Kahli Zeidan, Um al-Qura locality, May 2. Photo: Addis Standard via Facebook. Fifteen people were killed in a drone strike that targeted the home of Abu Agla Keikel, the commander of the military-allied Sudan Shield Forces, in eastern Gezira State late Saturday. According to three local residents, the strike hit the family house in the village of Kahli Zeidan in the Um al-Qura locality, located approximately 40 km east of Wad Madani, at around 10 pm. Nine members of Keikel’s family and six others who were inside the house were killed. Those killed included Keikel’s brother, Azzam, a field commander in the force; his nephew, Mohamed al-Siddig Keikel; and two other Sudan Shield Forces commanders, Abdallah Qismallah and Al-Siddig Bakhit, according to the residents. Several children and other family members were also among the victims. Youssef Emara Abu Sinn, an advisor to Keikel, told Mada Masr that two of the commander’s brothers, Haider and Khaled, were injured in the strike, which also caused extensive damage to the house and nearby buildings. The victims were buried at dawn on Sunday in their hometown. The Keikel family said it would not hold the traditional mourning ceremony to receive condolences after the burial in fear that large gatherings would be targeted by further strikes. Burhan visited the family later that day to offer condolences. No official statement has been issued by the military on the incident. A source close to Keikel said that the attack warns of a trajectory that may see the RSF target the social and familial spheres of military leaders. However, this is not the first violent attack on Keikel’s home region since his defection from the RSF in 2024. Keikel had been a prominent RSF commander in Gezira, where he led the operation that ended with the fall of the First Division in Wad Madani in December 2023. Forces under his command committed mass killings and looting across the state. In October 2024, he switched allegiance to the military, bringing his forces with him and quickly emerging as a key figure in the battles for central Sudan. In the days following his defection, the RSF launched deadly retaliatory campaigns against communities linked to him in eastern Gezira, killing dozens of civilians and forcing thousands to flee. A source in the General Intelligence Service said the latest strike on his home appears to be another act of retaliation for his role across Sudan’s fronts. Just two weeks before the attack, Keikel appeared in Blue Nile State’s capital, Damazin, where his forces were deployed to back the military in the Kurmuk and Bau fronts. Addressing his troops, he vowed to “end RSF presence” in the region before the rainy season begins in June. *** Military captures Takma in South Kordofan, RSF pushes to regain strategic area in preparation for attack on Dalang The military recaptured the Takma area east of Dalang in South Kordofan on Wednesday after heavy fighting with the RSF, a field source told Mada Masr. The operation, carried out with support from the General Intelligence Service, was aimed at reopening the road between Habila and Dalang and restore supply lines to the military’s 54th Infantry Brigade in the city, which has been under sustained pressure from the RSF and the allied Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu. Following the setback, the RSF mobilized reinforcements in Hammadi, Debeibat and Tibaldy before launching a new attack on Takma the next morning, according to the source. The military repelled the assault and destroyed several RSF vehicles, though the source said additional waves were likely. According to the source, the RSF mobilized forces in the Kadr area northwest of Dalang in preparation for a simultaneous offensive from both Kadr and the Takma axis. Since the start of the year, Takma has repeatedly changed hands. The area’s importance stems from its location on the corridor connecting Habila and Dalang, making it a vital route for military supplies and frontline reinforcement. *** Medical workers warn of total collapse of Dalang’s health sector The Sudan Doctors Network warned on Saturday that Dalang’s health sector is on the verge of total collapse amid sustained attacks by the RSF and SPLM-N (al-Hilu), accusing the allies of systematically targeting medical facilities across the city. Speaking to Mada Masr, medical sources across Dalang described mounting and overlapping pressures on the healthcare system, where direct strikes on hospitals intersect with severe supply shortages and restricted access caused by insecurity. Although the military broke through the joint RSF-SPLM-N siege of Dalang in late January, after two years of continuous artillery shelling, the city has since seen little relief. Drone strikes and shelling resumed almost immediately after the siege was lifted and have continued ever since. The attacks have intensified since late April, leaving most hospitals now either damaged or out of service and driving casualties to the few remaining facilities. According to the network, the Dalang Teaching Hospital has effectively been rendered inoperable, joining the Toumat Referral Hospital, while the Military Medical Corps Hospital has been completely destroyed. Most clinics and health centers across the city have also shut down. Sudan Doctors Network spokesperson Tasnim al-Amin told Mada Masr that the few remaining facilities are functioning at sharply reduced capacity due to damage to infrastructure and medical equipment. The Um Bakhita Hospital is now largely limited to maternity services, she said, while other units are struggling with acute shortages of medicines and supplies as well as understaffing due to the constant shelling. A doctor at Um Bakhita said severe shortages of anesthetics and antibiotics have left staff unable to treat critical cases, forcing them to either transfer patients under unsafe conditions to distant facilities or rely on palliative care. A medical source at the teaching hospital described the situation at their facility as one of “complete functional collapse,” saying the emergency and intensive care departments are out of service due to structural damage and lack of supplies. Surgical procedures are being carried out in conditions lacking even basic sterilization standards or operational stability, the source added. Another medical worker at a temporary emergency center said staff are facing severe psychological and operational strain amid continued shelling, power outages and water shortages that have disabled essential equipment. Dalang’s health sector is no longer capable of meeting even the city’s minimum daily needs, the source said. Unless military operations stop and medical corridors are secured, they added, the city is heading toward an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. *** Military, RSF prepare for major confrontation in Sudan-Libya-Egypt border triangle as military looks to open new route toward Darfur Aerial image of the Sudan-Egypt-Libya border triangle. With the frontlines in Kordofan largely locked in a stalemate, the military appears to be looking toward alternative routes for a push into Darfur. A military source told Mada Masr that large numbers of fighters from the military-allied Sayyad mobile unit and the joint force of armed movements gradually withdrew from Kordofan late last week via White Nile State before regrouping in Khartoum. The redeployment is part of preparations for operations along desert axes, the source said. The routes include an advance west of Omdurman, another from Dabba in Northern State, and a third stretching from Northern State’s Dongola through Khanag and Karb al-Tom toward the Sudan-Egypt-Libya border triangle, before moving into Darfur, according to the source. The final axis, the source added, would serve both to protect the rear lines of the other two and to block supply flows from that direction once fighting begins. The source said military preparations were complete and expects clashes to break out in the border triangle within weeks. An RSF source said the group had already sent more than 300 combat vehicles to the area to counter any possible attack. The RSF seized the border triangle in June last year after the military withdrew. The route had previously served as a channel for Emirati supplies reaching the RSF through eastern Libya. However, after  several incursions into Egyptian territory, Cairo warned eastern Libyan leaders against using the corridor for RSF shipments. The military’s confidence in opening new fronts toward Darfur has also been bolstered by the defection of Al-Nour Gubba from the RSF, according to the military source. A prominent field commander from the Mahamid tribe, Gubba recently switched allegiance to the military along with his forces. A field source told Mada Masr in mid-April that his defection could deal a significant blow to the RSF’s mobilization capacity in Darfur, given his deep ties to influential tribal networks in the region. The military has since been supporting Gubba’s forces in the desert between North Darfur and Northern State, with the aim of forming a force to counter the RSF in North Darfur, another military source said at the time. *** Subscribe to our Lens on Sudan newsletter here . The post Sudan Nashra: Khartoum escalates against Ethiopia after RSF strikes traced to its territories | 15 killed in drone strike on home of military-allied commander | RSF buildup in Sudan-Libya-Egypt border triangle as military looks to open new route toward Darfur first appeared on Mada Masr .