The Sudanese Armed Forces press statement of November 13, 2026, saying air defenses shot down a drone over Dandaro in Blue Nile state that had crossed from Ethiopia. Credit: Sudanese Armed Forces (@SudaneseAF) on X.
Sudan’s army said its air defenses shot down what it called a hostile strategic drone over Dandaro in Blue Nile state on Friday afternoon, after the aircraft crossed the border from Ethiopia.
The general command of the Sudanese Armed Forces said in a short statement posted by its spokesman that the drone was downed at midday. It did not say what type of drone it was, who operated it or what it was carrying, and it did not report casualties or damage. The state news agency SUNA carried the same statement.
Pro army accounts on X offered their own readings. One account, in a post liked more than 500 times, called it a medium altitude long endurance drone, while another said it was likely a Turkish made Bayraktar Akinci, and a third said it took off from Rapid Support Forces camps that it claimed Ethiopia hosts with UAE backing. The flight tracking account AfriMEOSINT also suggested an Akinci or a TB2. None of these claims has been confirmed, and Mereja Media has not seen images of the wreckage.
Sudan’s army led government filed complaints against Ethiopia with the UN Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council at the start of the month, accusing it of allowing drone attacks on Sudan from its territory, Al Jazeera and Al Monitor reported. Ethiopia rejects the accusation. DW Amharic, in a Friday report on the worsening ties, recalled that Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement earlier this year, called a Sudanese charge baseless and in turn accused Sudan of deploying mercenary fighters and supplying weapons to attack Ethiopia.
Blue Nile borders Ethiopia’s Benishangul Gumuz region. Last week a local official said a drone attack killed nine civilians in a Blue Nile village near the Ethiopian border, and an adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Getachew Reda, told the UN envoy that Eritrea and Sudan back armed groups and drone attacks in Ethiopia. Mereja Media found no Ethiopian government comment on Friday’s claim by evening.
Sources
- Sudanese Armed Forces on X, press statement on Dandaro (Arabic), Nov 13
- SUNA on X, drone downed in Dandaro (Arabic), Nov 13
- AfriMEOSINT on X, Nov 13
- yasseralfadol on X (Arabic), Nov 13
- FCB6O on X (Arabic), Nov 13
- M_Habiela on X (Arabic), Nov 13
- Al Jazeera, Sudan files complaints against Ethiopia with UN over deadly drone spree, Nov 2
- Al Monitor, Sudan says it downed drone from Ethiopia, files complaint with UN, Nov 3
- DW Amharic, Sudan and Ethiopia trade accusations as consulates close (Amharic), Nov 13
- Mereja Media, Drone attack kills nine civilians in a Blue Nile village near the Ethiopian border
- Mereja Media, Getachew Reda tells UN envoy that Eritrea and Sudan back armed groups and drone attacks in Ethiopia