At least 153 people died when a drone attack struck a busy market in the disputed Abyei border region between Sudan and South Sudan. The strike hit Amiet Market, north of Abyei town, on Monday.
Yohanna Akol Ngor, the caretaker minister of information for the Abyei administration, blamed the military of Sudan for the assault on Tuesday. He said that fires continued to burn at the market and warned that the death toll was likely to rise.
Ngor told Reuters the situation was terrible and some bodies had been burned to ashes. Medical workers treated the injured at a local hospital.
South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation also blamed the Sudanese military. Drones struck multiple locations inside the market, the ministry said, adding that it had summoned the Sudanese ambassador to protest.
Juba called on its northern neighbour to stop endangering civilian lives and property. The Sudanese armed forces did not comment immediately on the diplomatic summons or the accusations.
A senior Sudanese military officer told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that the army targeted fuel tankers arriving from South Sudan and heading to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The officer asserted that those killed were RSF members and fuel smugglers, and maintained the military does not target civilians.
Unnamed diplomats told Reuters the strike hit a fuel depot at the market that the RSF has used to supply its fighters. The RSF did not issue an immediate comment.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, condemned the drone attacks near Amiet Market and Todach in a statement on Tuesday. Dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed and many others injured, he said, though the UN statement did not assign blame.
The UN reported that many individuals were missing while the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei verified casualties. The medical charity Doctors Without Borders stated it was treating more than 20 wounded people, some with severe burns.
The conflict between Sudan’s army and the RSF began in April 2023 and has triggered a humanitarian crisis. South Sudan maintains it has not taken sides, but diplomats say Abyei has become a key route for RSF fuel supplies.
Abyei is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan and is jointly administered. The oil-rich territory borders Sudan’s Kordofan area, a major theatre of combat in the ongoing civil war.
