Copernicus Sentinel satellite image of Amiet market in the Abyei area on October 21, 2026, two days after the drone strike, with the damaged market area outlined. Image: AfriMEOSINT via X (Copernicus Sentinel data)
Sudan’s army-aligned government denies that its forces carried out the October 19 drone strike on Amiet market in disputed Abyei, where local officials say at least 153 people were killed, Ethiopians among them.
“The Sudanese Armed Forces have absolutely no connection to this unfortunate incident,” Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday, according to Radio Tamazuj. It gave no evidence and did not explain what happened. A senior Sudanese military officer had earlier told the Associated Press, on condition of anonymity, that the army carried out the strike against fuel tankers bound for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and a military source gave the BBC a similar account.
Yohana Akol Ngor, caretaker information minister of the Abyei administration, said the victims included Sudanese, South Sudanese, Ethiopians and Somalis, and that 19 people were taken to hospital, AFP reported. He blamed the army and said the toll was likely to rise. Sudans Post reported on Friday that local authorities now put the dead at 220. The UN force in Abyei said at least 80 people were killed and 27 wounded near Amiet and Todach.
A witness told the Guardian he heard five large explosions before a nearby fuel depot caught fire. “In one site, I saw 28 bodies that were burnt,” he said, according to the Guardian. Doctors Without Borders said more than 20 wounded people, some with burns, were brought to Ameth Bek hospital.
Ethiopian troops made up almost the entire UN force in Abyei from 2011 until 2022, when they left after the UN agreed to Sudan’s request to replace them. Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made no public statement on the Ethiopians killed or hurt at Amiet. Mereja Media has asked the ministry for comment.
UN Secretary General António Guterres condemned the attacks. South Sudan, which also blames the Sudanese army, summoned Sudan’s ambassador in Juba, and the RSF-aligned administration said it had filed a complaint with the UN fact-finding mission for Sudan.
Sources
- Radio Tamazuj, "Khartoum denies role in Abyei attack as RSF allies seek probe," October 23, 2026
- AFP via Arab News, "Death toll from Sudan army strike in disputed territory rises to 153: local authority"
- The Guardian (with agencies), "Drone strike kills more than 150 at market in Sudanese war," October 21, 2026
- AP, "Drone strike on market in Abyei kills at least 153"
- Sudans Post (@SudansPost) on X
- Sudan Tribune (@SudanTribune_EN) on X: 1, 2
- AP via ABC News, "Drone strike on a market in disputed African region of Abyei kills at least 153"
- BBC, "Sudan army drones hit mourners and fuel market killing more than 300 people, sources say"
- Xinhua, "Sudan says UN agrees to replace Ethiopian forces within UNISFA," January 19, 2022