Drone Strike on Abyei Market Kills at Least 153, Officials Say

A drone strike on a crowded market in the disputed Abyei region killed at least 153 people on Monday, a local official told Reuters on Tuesday, in one of the deadliest attacks linked to Sudan's civil war since it began in April 2023.

Yohana Akol Ngor, the caretaker information minister for Abyei, said the confirmed toll had risen to 153 from an earlier count of 73. Fires set off by the strike were still burning on Tuesday and were slowing the recovery of bodies, he said. About 8,000 people have been displaced by the bombing, Ngor added.

The strike hit Amiet Market, north of Abyei town, at around midday on Monday. Three diplomatic sources, an aid worker and a conflict expert told Reuters the strike hit a fuel depot inside the market. The diplomatic sources said the depot had been used in the past by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, known as the RSF, to supply its fighters.

Blame disputed, no comment from Sudan's army

South Sudan's government blamed Sudan's military for the strike, but Ngor gave no evidence for the claim. A spokesperson for Sudan's armed forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and an RSF spokesperson did not respond either. Reuters said it could not immediately verify the claims made by either side.

South Sudan's foreign ministry said late on Monday that drones had struck the market north of Abyei town. The ministry did not give a casualty figure in that statement, and it said it had summoned Sudan's ambassador to protest the attack.

Officials in Sudan's military led government told Reuters the RSF is active in parts of Abyei. Ngor denied that the RSF has a presence in the region.

Hospital treats the wounded

The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, known as MSF, said it was treating more than 20 wounded people at the nearby Ameth Bek Hospital, including patients with burns. "We are providing surgical services and wound dressing, along with other emergency care," said Christian Lindauer, the MSF medical activities manager at the hospital. Abyei is an oil rich area claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan since South Sudan became independent in 2011. It is jointly administered and sits on Sudan's border with Kordofan, a major centre of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF. The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei warned in May 2026 that the RSF presence had increased insecurity, and that delays in settling the region's final status put civilians and peacekeepers at risk.

Drone strikes spread

Both sides in Sudan's war have stepped up drone strikes in recent days, with attacks reported this week on RSF held Nyala and on army held Khartoum airport. The Sudanese rights group Emergency Lawyers said dozens of people were killed in attacks on October 17 and 18 in al-Muglad in West Kordofan state, which the group attributed to Sudan's army. On October 10, an air strike close to Sudan's border with Egypt killed more than 70 artisanal miners, according to a local rights group.

Chadian authorities have also accused Sudan's military of drone strikes on Chadian territory, which United Nations experts say is used regularly by RSF supply lines.

Ngor said the Abyei toll could still rise as recovery work continues. "The fire is still burning," he said. "The recovery process of the dead is still continuing. The situation is terrible."