NAIROBI, Oct 20 (Reuters) - South Sudanese officials said Sudan's military had carried out drone strikes that hit a market in the disputed Abyei region, killing about 73 people, the latest attack to cause mass casualties near Sudan's borders.
Sudan has been gripped by war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, and the conflict has spilled over the country's borders, threatening to destabilise the region.
Yohana Akol Ngor, the caretaker minister
of information in Abyei, did not provide evidence for his claim of who was responsible for the attack, which according to local authorities took place around midday on Monday. A spokesperson for Sudan's armed forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations.
A diplomatic source and an aid worker told Reuters the strike hit a fuel depot in the market, with the diplomatic source saying the depot had been used in the past by the RSF to supply its forces.
South Sudan declared independence from Sudan in 2011. Since then, both countries have staked a claim to oil-rich Abyei, which is jointly administered. It borders Sudan's Kordofan region, which has become a major centre of fighting in Sudan's war.
That conflict has drawn in local militias and foreign powers and created what the United Nations has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Officials in Sudan's military-led government told Reuters the RSF is active in parts of Abyei. Reuters could not immediately verify that assertion.
The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) warned in May that the presence of the RSF in Abyei had increased insecurity there, adding that delays in determining the disputed region's final status had put civilians and UNISFA personnel at risk.
STRUGGLE TO RETRIEVE BODIES
Ngor told Reuters that emergency workers had struggled to retrieve the bodies because of fires caused by the strikes.
"Around 73 people have been killed and 19 have been wounded ... a number of drones were shot yesterday by the Sudanese armed forces," Ngor said.
South Sudan's foreign ministry said in a statement late Monday that drones struck a market located north of Abyei town, but did not specify the number of civilian casualties.
The ministry said it had summoned the Sudanese ambassador to convey the government's "strong protest and deep concern regarding the attack and its implications for the security of civilians and the stability of the Abyei Area."
The incident illustrates the lethality of airstrikes in Sudan's war, in which drone attacks now dominate, and the spread of the conflict around the country's borders.
Sudanese armed forces and the RSF have recently escalated drone strikes, with a series of attacks targeting RSF-held Nyala and army-held Khartoum airport this week. Sudanese rights group Emergency Lawyers said dozens of people were killed in attacks on October 17 and 18 in al-Muglad in West Kordofan state, attributing them to the Sudanese army.
Chadian authorities have accused Sudan’s military of carrying out drone strikes on its territory, which UN experts say is regularly used by RSF supply lines. Sudan's foreign ministry said in late August that its armed forces were acting to protect the country's security, "while respecting the sovereignty of its neighbours and without targeting their territory".
On October 10, an airstrike close to Sudan's border with Egypt killed more than 70 artisanal miners, according to a local rights group.
PATIENTS TREATED FOR BURNS
Abyei experiences frequent bouts of violence, with clashes usually involving rival ethnic groups or armed militias. The attack is the deadliest in years to hit the area, where medical supplies and healthcare are scarce.
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said in a statement posted late on Monday that it was treating more than 20 wounded people at the nearby Ameth Bek Hospital.
"So far we received over 20 patients, including several critical cases. Patients with burns were also admitted. We are providing surgical services and wound dressing, along with other emergency care," said Christian Lindauer, MSF medical activities manager at Ameth Bek Hospital.
Photographs shared on MSF's official social media account showed bandaged patients lying on the floor as they received care for their injuries.
Last year, at least six Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed and eight wounded in a drone attack by separatist armed groups on a UN base, Bangladesh's armed forces said.
(Reporting by Nairobi Newsroom, Nafisa Eltahir and Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Vincent Mumo Nzilani and Ammu Kannampilly; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Aidan Lewis)
