At least 153 people killed in drone strike on disputed Sudan-South Sudan region

A drone strike on a fuel depot in a disputed region on the Sudan-South Sudan border has killed at least 153 people.

A senior Sudanese military officer said the army carried out the strike on Amiet market - north of the town of Abyei - on Monday morning.

He said the target was fuel tankers arriving from South Sudan, which he said were intended for the insurgent paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

He told the Associated Press that those killed were RSF members and people associated with fuel smuggling - a claim which has not been verified.

The strike took place outside the delimitarised zone along the border with South Sudan, the officer added. It ignited a fire that was still burning on Tuesday (20 October).

The UN deployed medical personnel and firefighters to evacuate casualties and prevent the blaze from spreading, but has not yet clarified who carried out the attack.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement: "Attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international law.

"I remind that all parties to the armed conflict must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, including to respect and protect civilians at all times. There will need to be accountability."

The death toll is expected to rise as the UN continues to verify casualties, the statement added.

Doctors Without Borders (known by its French acronym MSF) said more than 20 wounded people were brought to Ameth Bek Hospital, where its teams were working with South Sudan's health ministry.

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Dr. Christian Lindauer, MSF's medical activities manager at the hospital, said: "So far we received over 20 patients, including several critical cases. Patients with burns were also admitted."

The group called on all sides to cease attacks on civilians and infrastructure.

Sudan's military and the RSF have been locked in a brutal conflict since April 2023, devastating large parts of the country.

It is thought that hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, with millions more displaced.

Sudan and South Sudan have disagreed over control of the wider Abyei region since a 2005 peace agreement ended decades of civil war, and the issue remained unsettled when South Sudan became independent in 2011.

(c) Sky News 2026: At least 153 people killed in drone strike on disputed Sudan-South Sudan region