South Sudan says drone attack on Abyei market killed at least 73

ABYEI — At least 73 people were killed and 19 others wounded when drones struck a market in the disputed Abyei region on Monday, according to Yohanna Akol Nyiger, acting information minister for Abyei. He told Reuters on Tuesday that the Sudanese armed forces had launched the drones the previous day. The attack was reported by BBC News Arabic.

Nyiger accused the Sudanese army of carrying out the attack. His figures were given to Reuters and reported by BBC News Arabic, which cited the same statement. The BBC report did not say how Nyiger obtained the casualty numbers.

South Sudan's foreign ministry said in a statement issued late on Monday that drones had targeted a market north of Abyei town. The ministry did not give a civilian death toll. It said it had summoned the Sudanese ambassador to convey the government's "strong protest and deep concern" over the attack and its effect on civilian safety and stability in Abyei.

Médecins Sans Frontières said in a statement that it was treating more than 20 wounded people at the nearby Amith Peak hospital. Christian Lindauer, the group's medical activities manager at the hospital, said the team had received more than 20 patients so far, including people in critical condition and people with burns. The BBC report named the hospital as "Amith Peak", a spelling the group's statement does not confirm in the source text.

The sources do not say whether the Sudanese army has responded to the accusation. It is also not clear from the reports how many of the dead were civilians, or whether the wounded in the hospital are the same people counted in the 19 injured.

Abyei is an oil-rich area under joint administration by Sudan and South Sudan. Both countries claim sovereignty over it. The area has seen repeated waves of violence, often involving clashes between ethnic groups or rival armed factions.

Sudan has been at war since April 2023 between the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The conflict has drawn in local armed groups and outside powers and has caused wide destruction. The United Nations has described it as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

The BBC report also said that last year the Bangladeshi army reported that at least six of its peacekeepers were killed and eight others wounded in a drone attack by armed separatist groups on a United Nations base in Abyei. The report did not give a date for that incident.