The Rapid Security Force (RSF), the militant faction waging war against the Sudanese government, launched a drone attack on the Khartoum airport on May 5. The Sudanese government accused the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia of facilitating the attacks, claiming that the drones were launched from Ethiopian territory. It is well known that the UAE has been supporting the RSF on behalf of the British. While Ethiopia has denied this accusation, it is also well known that the UAE had supported the Ethiopian government with drones during that country’s civil war several years ago.
While the drone attack did not cause significant damage, Egypt has seen it as a dangerous escalation that targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure. Egypt has supported the Sudanese government as the sovereign and has made strong diplomatic efforts regionally to settle the conflict, which has been raging since 2023. Egypt also sees the security situation in Sudan as a major concern for its own national security.
Egypt issued a statement in the “firmest possible language,” declaring: “This is an outright violation of Sudan’s sovereignty and a direct attack on the safety of its civilian installations. The attack imposes unequivocal harm on the interests and rights of the Sudanese people, and it poses serious threats of an alarming escalation that could further complicate the very disturbing humanitarian and security situation in the country.” It added that the escalation would only hamper the already daunting task of reaching and implementing a humanitarian truce in the country.
