Symbolic imageDrone strike on Abyei market kills at least 153
A drone strike on Amiet Market in the disputed Abyei region killed at least 153 people on Monday. South Sudan blames Sudan's army, which says it targeted fuel tankers.
On Tuesday, Abyei's caretaker information minister Yohanna Akol Ngor said the toll from the strike on Monday, 19 October, had risen from 73 to 153 and would likely climb, as fires still burned and some bodies were burnt to ashes. He blamed the Sudanese army and denied the claim of Sudanese officials that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are active in Abyei. A senior Sudanese officer told AP, anonymously, that the army hit fuel tankers from South Sudan bound for the RSF and that the dead were RSF members and fuel smugglers. Diplomats told Reuters the strike hit a depot the RSF has used before.
South Sudan protests
South Sudan's foreign ministry summoned Sudan's ambassador and urged Sudan to refrain from acts that endanger civilians, saying drones hit several locations in the market. South Sudan says it has not taken sides, though diplomats call Abyei a key route for RSF fuel.
UN and MSF respond
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric condemned drone attacks near Amiet Market and Todach, saying dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed, but did not name the attacker. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it is treating more than 20 wounded, some with severe burns.