A drone strike on Amiet Market in Abyei, a border region disputed by Sudan and South Sudan, killed at least 153 people on Monday and set off a fire at a nearby fuel depot that was still burning Tuesday, a local official said.
Yohanna Akol Ngor, the Abyei administration’s caretaker information minister, blamed Sudan’s military for the attack on the market, north of Abyei town. He said the toll was still climbing as the fire burned.
A senior Sudanese military officer said the army carried out the strike, but gave a different account of who was hit.
What We Know So Far
Ngor said the strike hit around 11 a.m. Monday. The fuel depot supplied local businesses. “It is a horrible and shocking situation,” he said.
A witness who asked not to be named for safety reasons told The Guardian he heard five large explosions before the depot caught fire. People had shrapnel wounds to the stomach and legs, he said, and at one site he counted 28 burned bodies.
Doctors Without Borders, known as MSF, said more than 20 wounded people were taken to Ameth Bek Hospital, where its teams worked with South Sudan’s Health Ministry staff. “Patients with burns were also admitted,” said Dr. Christian Lindauer, the hospital’s medical activities manager for MSF. The charity called on all parties to stop attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.
The U.N. secretary-general condemned drone attacks near Amiet Market and Todach and said dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed and many were injured. The statement did not say who carried out the attacks. Many people remain missing, the U.N. said, and the toll is expected to rise as the U.N. Interim Security Force for Abyei, known as UNISFA, verifies casualties. The force sent medical personnel, firefighting teams and quick reaction forces.
What Authorities Are Saying
The senior Sudanese military officer, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, said the army struck fuel tankers coming from South Sudan that he said were bound for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. He said those killed were RSF members and people involved in fuel smuggling, and that the strike took place outside the demilitarized zone along the border with South Sudan. “We do not target civilians,” he said. Sudan’s military did not respond to a request for comment from The Guardian.
South Sudan’s Foreign Ministry also blamed Sudan’s military and said the attack hit several locations inside the market, causing civilian casualties and extensive property damage. It summoned Sudan’s ambassador to protest and urged Sudan to “refrain from any actions that endanger civilian lives and property.” It said issues over Abyei should be settled through diplomatic channels.
Differing Accounts
The toll and the targets are in dispute. Sudans Post quoted Ngor as saying 73 people were killed and 19 wounded, a figure he said could rise. The AP and The Guardian quoted him giving 153. The AP could not independently verify the officer’s account of the targets or the identities of the dead. Sudans Post quoted Ngor as saying most victims were traders from Sudan and South Sudan.
The accounts also differ on timing, with the AP saying the strike hit around 11 a.m. and Sudans Post saying around 11:30 a.m. Sudans Post said bodies were burned beyond recognition and heavy smoke forced a pause in search operations. It could not independently verify who carried out the attack, and The Guardian said Ngor gave no evidence for blaming the army.
Why This Matters
The strike pushed the toll from recent attacks in Sudan above 250, The Guardian said. On Sunday, a drone strike killed 80 people, mostly commuters catching rides, near a market in West Kordofan state. On Friday, an attack on a market in Nyala, a stronghold of the Rapid Support Forces, killed 23 people and injured 44, according to volunteers there.
Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Forces have been fighting since April 2023, devastating large parts of the country and threatening stability along its borders. Abyei borders Kordofan, which has become a major center of the fighting.
Abyei’s status was left unresolved by a 2005 peace agreement that ended decades of civil war and remained unsettled when South Sudan became independent in 2011. A proposed referendum stalled over who could vote. The majority Ngok Dinka population favors joining South Sudan, while Misseriya nomads who use its pastures favor Sudan. Amiet Market is a trading hub that serves both communities and people displaced by the war in Sudan.
What Happens Next
The fire at the fuel depot was still burning Tuesday, and UNISFA is verifying casualties. The U.N. expects the toll to rise. Sudan’s army has not responded publicly beyond the anonymous officer’s comments.
Sources: the Associated Press, The Guardian and The Sudans Post
