South Sudanese officials say Sudan's military has carried out drone strikes that hit a market in the disputed Abyei region, killing more than 150 people, the latest in a series of strikes in one of the bloodiest weeks of a war that has spilled across Sudan's borders.
The strike pushed the toll from attacks in recent days to more than 250, underscoring the lethality of air strikes in Sudan's war, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), triggering a major humanitarian crisis and drawing in local militias and foreign powers.
Yohana Akol Ngor, the caretaker minister of information in Abyei, told Reuters on Tuesday that the death toll from the attack on the market in Abyei on Monday had jumped to 153 from 73 but was likely to rise further.
"The fire is still burning. So the recovery process of the dead ones is still continuing. The situation is terrible," Ngor said, adding that some bodies had been burned to ashes.
A video filmed at the scene on Tuesday and verified by Reuters showed the charred and twisted remains of vehicles and buildings.
Flames still billowed from one building as residents inspected the damage.
He said Sudan's army was responsible for the attack, without providing evidence.
A spokesperson for Sudan's armed forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Three diplomatic sources, an aid worker and an expert on the conflict told Reuters the strike hit a fuel depot in the market.
The diplomatic sources said the depot had been used in the past by the RSF to supply its forces.
A spokesperson for the RSF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
South Sudan declared independence from Sudan in 2011.
Since then, both countries have staked a claim to oil-rich Abyei, which is jointly administered.
It borders Sudan's Kordofan region, which has become a major centre of fighting in the war.
Officials in Sudan's military-led government told Reuters the RSF is active in parts of Abyei.
Ngor denied the presence of the RSF in Abyei.
The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) warned in May that the presence of the RSF in Abyei had increased insecurity there, adding that delays in determining the disputed region's final status had put civilians and UNISFA personnel at risk.
Sudanese armed forces and the RSF have recently escalated drone strikes, with a series of attacks targeting RSF-held Nyala and army-held Khartoum airport this week.