Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has told Middle East Eye that his forces are prepared to defend their nation after drones allegedly launched from Ethiopia struck Khartoum airport five times on Monday.
“If we confirm following investigations that the drones came from Ethiopia, we will take the necessary steps to keep Sudanese land and the Sudanese nation protected, in coordination with the international community,” Burhan said after the drone strikes.
A Sudanese intelligence source told MEE that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its Joint Forces allies were preparing a “heavy deployment” to Blue Nile state, which borders Ethiopia, and al-Fashaga, a disputed area between the two countries.
The source said that the Sudanese army and government were expecting an increase in such attacks, as relations between Sudan and Ethiopia continue to deteriorate and the prospect of an outright confrontation between the two nations grows.
Last month, MEE reported exclusively on the use of an Ethiopian army base at Asosa, in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, to assist the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been at war with the SAF since April 2023 and is backed by Ethiopia’s ally, the United Arab Emirates.
