Abyei market strike killed more than 220, local minister says

Abyei’s caretaker information minister, Yohana Akol Ngor, told Eye Radio on Tuesday afternoon that more than 220 people had been killed in Monday’s drone strike on Amiet Market. The market serves communities in the border region disputed by Sudan and South Sudan. [2] [10]

The toll had risen sharply through successive reports. Local officials initially put the number killed at about 73; Akol later told Reuters and the Associated Press that 153 deaths had been recorded. In his account to Eye Radio, he said approximately 153 people had been buried in one mass grave and 73 in another. He told Reuters that fires had made it difficult to retrieve bodies and that recovery work was continuing. [7] [3] [2] [4]

Médecins Sans Frontières said more than 20 wounded people, including patients with burns, had been brought to Ameth Bek Hospital. Its figure describes patients received there, not everyone injured in the attack. Earlier reports gave differing totals for the wounded. [9] [1] [7]

Akol and South Sudan’s foreign ministry blamed Sudan’s military. Reuters said Akol provided no evidence for the accusation, while the Associated Press said it could not independently verify who carried out the strike. The military did not respond to the agencies’ requests for comment. South Sudan’s ministry said it had summoned Sudan’s ambassador to protest. [4] [3]

Reuters reported, citing three diplomatic sources, an aid worker and a conflict expert, that the strike hit a fuel depot at the market. The diplomats said the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces had used the depot for supplies in the past; Akol said it supplied local businesses. That reported former use does not establish what was stored there on Monday or why the market was struck. [4] [3]