Sudan Drone Strike on Abyei Market Kills More Than 150 People

A drone strike on the Amiet market in the disputed Abyei region, nestled between Sudan and South Sudan, killed 153 people on Monday, according to Abyei's caretaker minister of information, Yohana Akol Ngor, who warned the toll was likely to rise. He said some bodies had been burned to ashes and that ongoing fires were hampering efforts to recover the dead.

Three diplomatic sources, an aid worker, and a conflict expert told Reuters the strike hit a fuel depot inside the market — one that had previously been used by Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for supplies. An eyewitness said he heard five large explosions before the depot caught fire, and described seeing 28 burned bodies at a single location. Goods such as sugar, flour, and biscuits are sold at the market. Around 8,000 people were displaced by the attack.

Médecins Sans Frontières said it was treating more than 20 wounded, some with burns, at the nearby Ameth Bek Hospital. South Sudan's foreign ministry summoned the Sudanese ambassador in protest. Neither Sudan's armed forces nor the RSF immediately responded to requests for comment.

The strike is part of escalating drone attacks between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, who have been fighting a civil war since 2023. The United Nations condemned the attack, noting that deaths from strikes in recent days had exceeded 250 in total. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the attacks were taking a "devastating toll on communities already struggling with the consequences of more than three years of conflict."