ABYEI — A Sudanese military officer has confirmed that the army carried out a drone strike on Amiet Market in the disputed Abyei Area, claiming it targeted fuel tankers believed to be supplying the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The strike on Monday, October 19, hit a fuel depot at the market, triggering a fire that continued to burn the following day.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that an unnamed senior Sudanese military officer said the tankers had arrived from South Sudan and were bound for RSF forces. The officer claimed those killed were RSF members or people involved in fuel smuggling.
“We do not target civilians,” the officer told the AP, speaking anonymously because he was not authorised to brief the media.
The BBC separately reported that a military source confirmed the army had carried out the attack, describing the market as a fuel supply site for the RSF.
Yohana Akol Ngor, caretaker information minister for the Abyei administration, told Sudans Post on Tuesday that the death toll had reached 220, warning that it could rise as the fire continued to burn.
The attack struck Amiet Market, a major trading centre serving the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities. The market supports local livelihoods, and the loss of life has raised concerns about the safety of traders and residents.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said it had received more than 20 wounded people at Ameth Bek Hospital in Abyei town, including critically injured patients and people with burns.
The United Nations condemned the drone attacks near Amiet Market and Todach, reporting that civilians, including women and children, had been killed and many others injured.
South Sudan’s Foreign Ministry summoned Sudanese Ambassador Isam Mohamed Hassan Karar on Monday to protest the attack, which Juba blamed on the Sudanese Armed Forces. The ministry called on Sudan to refrain from actions that endanger civilian lives and property and urged both sides to address Abyei-related issues through diplomatic channels.
The strike comes amid Sudan’s war between the army and the RSF, which began in April 2023 and has devastated large parts of the country. The military’s claim that the market was supplying fuel to the RSF places the attack within the context of that conflict, but the circumstances surrounding the targeting remain contested.
Abyei’s final status also remains unresolved. A 2005 peace agreement provided for a referendum on whether the territory should join Sudan or South Sudan, but the vote never took place because the parties failed to agree on voter eligibility.
Tensions have also increased over South Sudan’s plans to include Abyei in its December 22, 2026, general elections, a move opposed by Sudan. However, no verified evidence links the election dispute to the decision to carry out the strike.