Follow-Up: Toll From Abyei Market Strike in Sudan Rises to at Least 153; Local Official Puts Deaths Above 220, Some 8,000 Displaced
The death toll from Monday's drone strike on Amiet Market in Abyei, the disputed border region between Sudan and South Sudan, has risen to at least 153, the Associated Press reported. Yohanna Akol Ngor, the Abyei administration's caretaker information minister, told the AP on Tuesday that a fire ignited when the strike hit a nearby fuel depot was still burning and that the toll was continuing to rise. GSM had earlier reported an initial toll of 73 dead at the market.
Later on Tuesday, Ngor said through local media that rescue workers had found two mass graves near the market holding about 153 and 73 victims, putting the total death toll above 220, with some 8,000 people displaced. Residents of Abyei town protested peacefully on Tuesday, demanding an investigation and better protection for civilians and traders. The figure of more than 220 comes from the local official and has not been independently verified.
A senior Sudanese military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AP the army carried out the strike, targeting fuel tankers arriving from South Sudan that he said were bound for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF); he said those killed were RSF members and people involved in fuel smuggling and that the army does not target civilians. The AP said it could not independently verify his account of the targets or the identities of those killed. He said the strike took place outside the demilitarized zone along the border with South Sudan.
The U.N. secretary-general on Tuesday condemned drone attacks near Amiet Market and Todach, saying dozens of civilians, including women and children, had been killed and many others injured, without identifying who carried out the attacks. The U.N. Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) said it was still verifying casualties and had deployed medical personnel, firefighting capabilities and quick reaction forces. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said more than 20 wounded people were brought to Ameth Bek Hospital, including several critical cases and patients with burns.
South Sudan's Foreign Ministry blamed Sudan's military for the attack, summoned Sudan's ambassador to protest, and urged Sudan to refrain from actions endangering civilians and to address Abyei issues through diplomatic channels. The oil-rich Abyei region's status has remained unresolved since South Sudan's independence in 2011, and Sudan's military and the RSF have been at war since April 2023.
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Photo: 苏丹阿卜耶伊一处聚落（资料图，2009年摄，非本次袭击现场）。图：Sudan Envoy 作，CC BY 2.0，经维基共享资源。 / A settlement in Abyei, Sudan (file photo, 2009; not a scene from the strike). Photo: Sudan Envoy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-10-21Follow-Up: Toll From Abyei Market Strike in Sudan Rises to at Least 153; Local Official Puts Deaths Above 220, Some 8,000 DisplacedThis story
