A drone strike killed at least 73 people in disputed Abyei.
The attack hit a market near the Sudan-South Sudan border.
Sudan’s ongoing war has displaced millions and killed thousands.
At least 73 people were killed in a drone strike on a market in the disputed Abyei region along the Sudan-South Sudan border on Monday, the region’s caretaker information minister said. Approximately 160 people have been reported killed in drone attacks since Friday, according to Al Jazeera.
The attack reportedly took place around midday on Monday, according to local authorities. However, Yohana Akol Ngor, Abyei’s caretaker information minister, did not present evidence to support his claim about who was behind the strike.
A diplomatic source and an aid worker said that the strike hit a fuel depot inside the market. The diplomatic source added that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had previously used the depot to supply their fighters, Reuters reported.
South Sudan became an independent country in 2011, but the two nations have continued to dispute control of oil-rich Abyei, a region they administer jointly. Abyei lies next to Sudan’s Kordofan region, which has emerged as a key battleground in the ongoing war.
Why Is There War In Sudan?
Sudan’s conflict erupted in April 2023 after months of growing tensions between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The fighting has spread to 13 of the country’s 18 states, killed tens of thousands and forced around 14 million people from their homes, triggering one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The RSF is widely reported to receive backing from the United Arab Emirates.
The origins of the current war go back to 2019, when mass protests brought down longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir. After his removal, former allies General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads Sudan’s regular military, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, who commands the RSF, emerged as key figures in the country’s transition.
Military leaders and civilian groups initially formed a joint government to steer Sudan towards democratic elections. But that arrangement collapsed in October 2021, when the military staged another coup and took full control of the country, deepening the political crisis that eventually led to war.
Tensions escalated after talks on restoring civilian rule stalled, breaking the fragile alliance between Sudan’s military leaders.
A major sticking point was a plan to merge Hemedti’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has around 100,000 fighters, into the national army. The two sides also clashed over who would lead the combined military force.
