The council’s report also attributes 176 soldier deaths to drone attacks. A separate Sudanese report alleges 70 assaults involving 187 drones were launched from Ethiopia, which denies aiding the force accused of carrying them out.
Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council says drone attacks killed 484 civilians and 176 Sudanese soldiers between 15 February and 27 October 2026. The council is linked to the Sudanese Armed Forces and the country’s de facto leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
The army has been at war since April 2023 with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary force. Sudan has accused the RSF of using Ethiopian territory to attack civilian sites; Ethiopia denies aiding the force.
A separate report by Sudan’s Foreign Ministry and military intelligence alleges that 70 assaults involving 187 one-way attack drones were launched from Ethiopian territory between February and October 2026. The account published by Al Jazeera gives an October subtotal of 28 attacks involving 97 drones.
The sovereignty council’s report identifies Asosa Airport in western Ethiopia, the Kurmuk-Gizen border area and Bahir Dar airbase in Amhara as alleged launch sites. The reporting provides no independent verification of the alleged launch sites or responsibility for the attacks.
Ethiopia denies Sudan’s repeated accusations that it aids the RSF. It has accused Sudan’s government in turn of backing rebels linked to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.
Suspected RSF drone attacks have heavily damaged civilian infrastructure in army-controlled areas. More than 90% of power stations in Sudanese cities have been put out of service by drone attacks. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned what he called the catastrophic civilian toll of drone use in the war.
Sudanese border affairs specialist Abdul Kareem Al-Almin Ahmed said the alleged Ethiopian support has divided the army over its response, with some army and allied voices calling for war. He warned that a war with Ethiopia could leave Sudan’s army fighting on two fronts.
Emergency Lawyers puts the toll from Monday’s attacks in Nyala, Sudan, at more than 100 dead and 113 wounded. MSF says its teams saw more than 150 wounded at one hospital.
African studies professor and conflict resolution expert Badr Hassan Al-Shafei said fears of harm to both countries were restraining a direct confrontation. He said stability in Sudan’s eastern neighbourhood served Khartoum’s interests, and that Sudan feared military support for Tigray could destabilize its border and drive displacement beyond what its border states could bear.
Relations are also strained by Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile. Al-Almin identified the Sudanese army’s rapprochement with Egypt’s government as another factor complicating relations. Downstream Sudan and Egypt fear the dam threatens their national security and say it breaches international law.
Sudan has lodged complaints with the United Nations Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council over the alleged use of Ethiopian territory to attack civilian sites, including power stations.
2 min
The joint statement estimates that 41% of Sudan’s population faces acute food insecurity, including five million at emergency levels, and calls for safe, unrestricted aid access.
2 min
The UK government has imposed travel bans and asset freezes on commanders from both sides of Sudan’s war whom it suspects of sexual violence during the siege of El Fasher.
2 min
