At least 73 people have been killed and 19 wounded in drone attacks carried out by the Sudanese army on Amiet Common Market in the disputed Abyei region on Monday morning, local officials said.
“At around 11:30 a.m. today, Monday, we were surprised by bombing and thick smoke inside Amiet Common Market, which is located 10 kilometres from Abyei town,” Yohana Akol Ngor, Abyei’s information minister, told Radio Tamazuj.
The attacks targeted the centre and southern parts of the market, as well as its northern gate, causing heavy casualties and extensive damage, he said.
Ngor said the injured had been taken to Abyei Hospital for treatment, with some in critical condition. He accused the Sudanese Armed Forces of carrying out the drone attacks on the market.
The minister said some of the bodies recovered had been burned beyond recognition. He added that the search for bodies had been suspended because of heavy smoke and warned that the death toll could rise.
“What we can confirm now is 73 people, but the number could be higher because people are working to extinguish the fire,” he said.
Asked about the identities of those killed and whether they were from South Sudan or Sudan, Ngor said the victims were civilians from both countries, most of them traders.
He said the attacks had targeted the area of the market where fuel was sold. Although the fire had been extinguished, heavy smoke continued to hamper operations, he added.
Meanwhile, Bulabek Deng Kuol, the paramount chief of the Ngok Dinka community, confirmed that the drone attack had caused heavy casualties. He said the attack began at around 11:30 a.m. and that approximately 12 drone strikes had hit Amiet Common Market.
Multiple sources told Radio Tamazuj that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) used the joint market to obtain fuel for their troops in war zones. The sources said the market was used to supply the RSF and its allies with fuel.
The attacks have caused fear and panic among residents in Abyei. Videos reviewed by Radio Tamazuj show civilians fleeing the market following the drone strikes.
Suleiman Al-Siddig, a Sudanese trader at the market, told Radio Tamazuj that efforts were underway to establish the total death toll. He said those confirmed killed included Sudanese and South Sudanese nationals, as well as four Somalis.
RSF officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Amiet Market, located in Ameth-Aguok County, is a major trading centre serving the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities. It also serves people displaced by the war in Sudan.
Abyei is disputed between South Sudan and Sudan.
The dispute involves the interests of the Misseriya, predominantly Arab pastoralists who traditionally move through Abyei with their cattle, and the Ngok Dinka, the region’s principal resident community, which is largely aligned with South Sudan.
Disagreements over whether members of the Misseriya community should be eligible to vote in a referendum on Abyei’s future have been a major obstacle to resolving the dispute.
Abyei, an oil-producing region, has remained a source of tension since South Sudan gained independence in 2011.
The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement provided for a referendum in which Abyei’s residents would decide whether the region should remain part of Sudan or join what became South Sudan. The vote has never taken place because the parties failed to agree on voter eligibility and other outstanding issues.
Agreements signed in 2011 established interim administrative and security arrangements for Abyei, but its final status remains unresolved.
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