Fire was still burning in Abyei on Tuesday when the grim arithmetic began. Abyei market drone attack killed more than 150 people in Abyei market on Monday, according to local officials, making it one of the deadliest strikes in a war that keeps crossing borders. Abyei’s caretaker information minister, Yohana Akol Ngor, told Reuters the toll had jumped from 73 to 153 and would probably rise.
What Happened at Amiet Market
The strike hit Amiet Market, north of Abyei town, around 11 a.m. Several sources told Reuters it struck a fuel depot, which turned the market into an inferno. Rescuers struggled to reach bodies because of the flames. One witness described seeing 28 burnt bodies at a single site.
Doctors Without Borders said it was treating more than 20 wounded people, some with burns, at Ameth Bek Hospital.
Two Versions of the Story
South Sudanese officials blame Sudan’s army. A senior Sudanese officer told the AP the military targeted fuel tankers arriving from South Sudan that he said were bound for the Rapid Support Forces, and that the dead were RSF members and fuel smugglers. Khartoum accuses the RSF of operating in the area. Reuters could not verify either account. Some other outlets have reported higher tolls, so the real figure may be higher still.
A Border Region With No Easy Answers
Abyei is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan, and a UN force has been deployed there since 2011. The UN condemned the strikes, and spokesman Stephane Dujarric spoke of a devastating toll on communities already worn down by more than three years of conflict. Reuters notes this is the deadliest attack in years to hit the area, where medical supplies are scarce.
For South Sudan, which is trying to hold together its own fragile peace, a war arriving at the border is a nightmare. For the families of Abyei, the question is simpler: who will bury the dead?
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