Sudan: Over 150 killed in drone attack in Abyei border region

Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters

Following a drone attack on a market in the Abyei border region between Sudan and South Sudan, the number of deaths in South Sudan has risen to 153. Originally, after the attack on Monday, 73 people died. Due to persistent fires, the recovery of the bodies is difficult. In addition, around 8,000 people were displaced by the attack.

Reuters news agency reports that, according to insiders, a fuel depot on the market was the target of the drone. According to a diplomat, it had been used in the past by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to supply their troops.

Drones also hit several locations in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Monday, including an area near the airport. At the weekend, the states of West Darfur, South Darfur and North Kordofan were attacked with drones.

Both warring parties are blamed for the attacks. Local authorities accuse the RSF of carrying out the attack in West Darfur. The RSF in turn accused the Sudanese army of shelling a market in southern Darfur. South Sudan’s government also blamed the Sudanese army for the strikes on the market in Abyei and appointed the Sudanese ambassador.

The oil-rich Abyei region is jointly managed by Sudan and South Sudan. South Sudan declared its independence in 2011. Both states lay claim to the area where ethnic conflicts often occur. The latest attack, however, is the most serious in years.

In Sudan, there has been a war between the RSF and the army since April 2023. In the meantime three and a half years of the war, tens of thousands of people were killed and more than 14 million people displaced. The war has triggered one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world.

Carl Skau, vice director of the World Food Programme, has travelled through the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan, explaining what the country needs most. Read the entire interview here.