South Sudan accused Sudan’s military of killing at least 153 people in a drone strike at Amiet Market in disputed Abyei, summoned Sudan’s ambassador to protest, and said the confirmed death toll could rise as missing people are counted.
The strike hit near a fuel depot at about 11 a.m. Monday, October 19. Fires were still burning the next day as responders searched the wreckage and recovered bodies. Abyei caretaker information minister Yohana Akol Ngor said Wednesday that 153 bodies had been buried.
She said some people remained missing and 30 injured people were receiving hospital care, several in critical condition. Ngor rejected reports that 220 people had died and said 153 was the confirmed figure. The United Nations said many people remained missing and that it was verifying the casualty numbers.
Sudan’s military had not commented publicly. A senior Sudanese officer told The Associated Press that the army struck fuel tankers it alleged were carrying supplies to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). He claimed those killed were fighters or fuel smugglers.
That account has not been independently verified. Médecins Sans Frontières said it had treated more than 20 wounded people, including patients with severe burns. Local reporting said about 8,000 people fled the area.
Amiet is a busy trading hub in Abyei, an oil-producing region claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan. The attack comes amid Sudan’s war between the army and the RSF, which began in 2023.