Sudanese military source acknowledges Abyei market strike, claims site supplied fuel to RSF

An unnamed Sudanese military source has told the BBC that the Sudanese Armed Forces carried out Monday’s drone strike on Amiet Market in the disputed Abyei Administrative Area, claiming the market was being used as a fuel supply site for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The reported death toll from the attack has risen to more than 220, according to Abyei’s Caretaker Minister of Information, Yohana Akol.

Akol said authorities found two mass graves following the attack, with 153 bodies buried in one grave and another 73 in the second.

Speaking to Eye Radio, the minister described the situation as dire and tragic. He also reported that numerous people were killed at another location after the first explosion struck a tractor-trailer carrying about 26 people.

The Sudanese military source’s account marks an acknowledgment of responsibility for the attack, although the claim that Amiet Market was supplying fuel to the RSF has not been independently verified.

The strike has heightened tensions between Sudan and South Sudan, which both claim the oil-rich Abyei region, a disputed territory that has remained unresolved since South Sudan gained independence in 2011.

South Sudan has summoned Sudan’s ambassador in Juba to lodge a formal protest over the attack.

The incident has raised concerns about further escalation along the border, amid fears that the conflict in Sudan could spill into South Sudan.

The war in Sudan began in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, triggering widespread displacement and a severe humanitarian crisis.