Strikes in Khartoum

Key findings

• On 4 May 2026, strikes allegedly hit Khartoum. CIR geolocated three videos filmed near the airport showing a smoke plume further north in the background.
• CIR was unable to verify damage to infrastructure in the area around and to the north of the airport based on satellite imagery analysis.
• The SAF alleged UAE-procured drones were staged from Bahir Dar Airport in Ethiopia, presenting flight data from a drone recovered on 17 March 2026 as evidence.
• Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formally denied the SAF’s allegations, instead accusing the SAF of deploying TPLF mercenaries in the conflict.
• CIR cannot corroborate the SAF’s specific claim that drones were housed at Bahir Dar Airport from satellite imagery. While increased activity at Bahir Dar has been observed since November 2025, this is assessed as more likely linked to broader ENDF activity.

Strikes north of the airport

On 4 May 2026, strikes hit Khartoum, with CIR geolocating three videos three videos filmed near the airport showing a smoke plume further north in the background.

The three geolocated videos corroborate a single origin area for the smoke (figure 1):

• The first video, shared to a pro-Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Telegram channel, filmed from a moving vehicle, was geolocated to the northern end of Ebed Khatim Street, running parallel to the eastern side of the main runway, approximately 2km southeast of the SAF General Command Headquarters.
• A second video, shared by a pro-RSF account on X, shows the same plume filmed from the corner of Ebed Khatim Street and Omak Street, approximately 750 metres south of the first geolocation point.
• A third video, posted to X by a pro-SAF journalist, was geolocated to the African Petroleum station at the southwestern corner of the airport.

Despite the visible smoke plume, CIR was unable to verify damage to infrastructure in the area around and to the north of the airport based on satellite imagery analysis.

Claims of Ethiopian involvement

The SAF has publicly alleged UAE and Ethiopian involvement in supplying and staging drones for the operation, claims Ethiopia has formally denied. On 5 May, SAF spokesperson Brigadier General Asim Mohamed released a statement via the SAF’s official Facebook page alleging the drones were procured by the UAE, transferred to Bahir Dar Airport in northern Ethiopia, and housed in a hangar there prior to the operation.

As evidence, supporting the claim that drones are being launched from Ethiopia into Sudan, the spokesperson presented alleged flight data recovered from a drone shot down on 17 March 2026. That data shows a flight path originating from Bahir Dar Airport in Ethiopia heading toward El Obeid in North Kordofan. The SAF stated the drone was recovered in North Kordofan; however, the flight data presented by the spokesperson shows the signal cutting out as the drone entered Blue Nile state (figure 2). The SAF identified the drone type as a Bayraktar Akinci manufactured by Baykar. CIR could not verify whether the alleged evidence of the flight path shown by the SAF is authentic.

Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded the same day via X, rejecting the allegations and instead accusing the SAF of using TPLF mercenaries in the conflict.