Sudan files complaints against Ethiopia at the UN and African Union over RSF drone launches

Sudan has filed formal complaints against Ethiopia with the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council, accusing Addis Ababa of allowing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to launch drones from its territory. Sudan’s Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday, November 1, that it had submitted documents which, according to the government, show Ethiopian soil being used for attacks with drones armed with explosives and missiles against civilian targets and infrastructure.

The ministry called the use of Ethiopian territory a “hostile act”. “The use of Ethiopian territory by the terrorist militia to target Sudanese territory constitutes a hostile act that places Ethiopia in confrontation with international law,” it said in a statement quoted by Asharq Al-Awsat. According to Dabanga, it invoked Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, called on Ethiopia to stop its hostile actions and urged the international community to hold the RSF accountable. Ethiopia had not responded immediately to the announcement. It has denied the accusations and says it respects Sudan’s sovereignty.

The Sovereignty Council’s figures

The Sovereignty Council, headed by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said separately that 187 drones were launched from inside Ethiopia in 70 attacks between February and October, according to Dabanga. Al Jazeera attributes the same toll to a detailed report by Sudan’s Foreign Ministry and military intelligence, for 187 single-use attack drones, and adds that 28 attacks with 97 drones took place in October alone. The alleged launch sites named are Assosa airport in western Ethiopia, the border area of Kurmuk-Geissen and the Bahir Dar air base in Amhara. These claims come from the Sudanese government and have not been independently verified.

From February 15 to October 27 drone attacks killed 176 soldiers and 484 civilians, according to a report by the Transitional Sovereignty Council cited by Al Jazeera. For the previous wave, see our report on the 306 civilians killed in three weeks. The Sovereignty Council asks Ethiopia to close the facilities it claims the RSF use, and demands accountability and compensation. The complaint follows the wave of drone attacks on power stations, with about 15 stations hit between October 20 and November 1, Asharq Al-Awsat reports.

Doubts over the legal weight and fear of regional escalation

Analysts disagree about the weight of the move. In remarks recorded by Dabanga, analyst Qureshi Awad questioned whether Sudan can build a credible legal case, since it has not produced sufficient evidence on where the drones were launched, and argued that the complaint is mainly political. Suhaib Hamid called it an important diplomatic step that could lead to an international investigation or a Security Council reaction, if detailed reports on the alleged launch sites in Ethiopia and evidence that Addis Ababa knew of the operations strengthen Sudan’s position.

Addis Ababa counters that Khartoum supports rebels linked to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, and the two neighbours are also at odds over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile. Border expert Abdel Karim al-Amin told Al Jazeera that some voices in the Sudanese army and allied forces are calling for Sudan to declare war on Ethiopia. Professor of African studies Badr Hassan al-Safei believes instead that fear of an escalation that would harm both countries prevents a general confrontation. As Al Jazeera notes, the Sudanese army is already exhausted and fighting the RSF fiercely in the south-east. The UN has warned that drone attacks in Sudan have killed more than 1,100 people since the start of the year, over 300 in the last month alone, Asharq Al-Awsat reports.