Abyei Market Strike Death Toll Hits 153 as South Sudan Summons Sudan's AmbassadorAbyei Market Strike Death Toll Hits 153 as South Sudan Summons Sudan's Ambassador

Yohana Akol Ngor, Abyei's caretaker information minister, told Reuters on 20 October that the figure could still rise and that about 8,000 people have been displaced. He blamed Sudan's army, without offering evidence. A Sudanese army spokesperson had not responded when the report was filed.

What happened at the market

The strike hit around midday on 19 October at a market north of Abyei town, according to South Sudan's foreign ministry. Three diplomatic sources, an aid worker and a conflict expert told Reuters that a fuel depot inside the market was the target. Fires made it hard to recover bodies, and some were burned beyond recognition.

Médecins Sans Frontières said its team was treating more than 20 wounded people, some with burns, at the nearby Ameth Bek Hospital, providing surgical care and wound dressing. A witness told Reuters of five large explosions and 28 burned bodies, and said no uniformed fighters were visible in the market.

Who is blamed, and what is disputed

Responsibility is contested. Diplomatic sources told Reuters the depot had been used by the Rapid Support Forces to supply its fighters, and officials in Sudan's military-led government say the group is active in Abyei. Ngor denied this. Reuters could not verify either claim, and Mwenendo reports both as unconfirmed.

The United Nations strongly condemned the drone attacks in Abyei and elsewhere, with spokesperson Stephane Dujarric saying he was alarmed by the relentless drone attacks across Sudan. The UN Interim Security Force for Abyei had warned in May that a growing RSF presence was worsening insecurity.

Why it matters for East African trade

Abyei is oil-rich and claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan. The market also sells sugar, flour and biscuits for shipment into Sudan, so a strike on its fuel depot touches informal regional supply lines as well as the war.

For Kenya, South Sudan is a transit market on the Northern Corridor. Mwenendo earlier reported on how Kenya and South Sudan moved to protect critical trade routes, and the IMF's latest outlook, covered in Kenya overtakes Ethiopia in IMF dollar GDP rankings, put South Sudan's growth at 10.5% this year.

Any lasting escalation along the border would test that outlook and the shipping and insurance costs of cargo bound for Juba.

Background to the escalation

The war between Sudan's army and the RSF began in April 2023. Drone strikes have intensified in recent weeks, including attacks on Nyala and Khartoum airport. Emergency Lawyers attributed dozens of deaths in al-Muglad on 17 and 18 October to the army. Reuters described the Abyei strike as one of the deadliest of the war and the deadliest in Abyei in years.

South Sudan's foreign ministry did not specify casualties in its statement. Mwenendo will update this report when the toll, the responsibility for the strike or Juba's next diplomatic step is confirmed.