The death toll from a drone strike on a market in Abyei, a border region disputed by Sudan and South Sudan, has risen to at least 153, a local official said.
The Oct. 19 attack on Amiet market hit a nearby fuel depot, triggering a fire, said Yohanna Akol Ngor, the Abyei administration’s acting information minister.
Some bodies were badly burned and people remained missing.
Ngor blamed Sudan’s military for the attack. A senior Sudanese military officer told the Associated Press that the army had targeted fuel tankers arriving from South Sudan that he said were bound for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed those killed were RSF members and people involved in fuel smuggling.
“We do not target civilians,” he said. AP could not independently verify his account of the targets or the identities of those killed.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned drone attacks near Amiet market and Todach, saying dozens of civilians, including women and children, had been killed and many others injured.
His statement did not identify those responsible.
The U.N. said the toll could rise as its Interim Security Force for Abyei continued to verify casualties, with many people still missing.
The mission deployed medical personnel, firefighters and emergency teams to treat and evacuate the wounded and contain the fire.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said more than 20 wounded people had been brought to Ameth Bek Hospital, including patients with burns and several in critical condition.
Its teams were working alongside South Sudanese Health Ministry staff.
