A drone attack on a market in Abyei, a border region claimed by both South Sudan and Sudan, has killed at least 153 people, according to a South Sudanese official.
The acting information minister of the Abyei administration said on Tuesday that the Sudanese army carried out the attack a day earlier on the Amiet market, north of Abyei town. Yohanna Akol Ngor said fires were still burning at the scene and the death toll could rise.
Speaking to Reuters, he described the situation as "very bad" and said some bodies had been burned to ashes.
South Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation accused the Sudanese army of deploying drones to strike multiple locations in the market. It said it had summoned Sudan's ambassador and called on its northern neighbour to "restrain" actions that threaten the lives and property of civilians.
The Sudanese army did not immediately comment.
A senior Sudanese officer, speaking to AP on condition of anonymity, said the army had targeted fuel tankers from South Sudan that were heading to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). He said those killed were RSF members and fuel smugglers, and insisted the army did not "target civilians."
Diplomats speaking anonymously to Reuters said the strike hit a fuel depot in the market that the RSF had used to supply its fighters. The RSF did not immediately comment.
In a statement on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, condemned the drone attacks near the Amiet and Todach markets, saying dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed and many others wounded. The statement did not identify who carried out the attacks.
The United Nations said many people remain missing and the death toll could rise as the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) continues to verify casualties.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it is treating more than 20 wounded people, some of them with severe burns.
The war between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has caused a severe humanitarian crisis in the country.
South Sudan says it is not taking sides, but diplomats say Abyei has become an important route for the RSF to bring in fuel supplies.
Abyei is a territory claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan and administered jointly since South Sudan's independence in 2011. The oil-rich area borders Sudan's Kordofan region, which has become one of the main flashpoints in the war.
