Drone Strike Kills at Least 73 at Market in Disputed Abyei Region

At least 73 people were killed and 19 wounded when drones struck a busy market in the disputed Abyei region on the border between Sudan and South Sudan on Monday, the region’s caretaker information minister said, in one of the deadliest single attacks on civilians in the area in recent years.

The strike hit the Amiet Market, a major trading centre north of Abyei town, around 11am local time. Witnesses described several explosions in the northern section of the market where fuel is sold, followed by a large fire. The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières said it was treating more than 20 wounded people at the nearby Ameth Bek Hospital, including several critical cases and patients with burns.

FAKTA

• What happened: Drones struck the Amiet Market in the disputed Abyei region on Monday, 19 October 2026.
• Toll: At least 73 killed and 19 wounded, per caretaker information minister Yohana Akol Ngor.
• Who is blamed: The minister accused Sudan’s army; no evidence has been shown, so responsibility remains unconfirmed.
• Response: South Sudan summoned Sudan’s ambassador in protest; MSF is treating over 20 wounded at Ameth Bek Hospital.
• Where: Abyei, an oil-rich region claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan and jointly administered by them.

Attack on a busy market day

Amiet Market serves traders and shoppers from the Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities, as well as people displaced by Sudan’s wider war, making it a major commercial hub. Local officials said the drones dropped around seven bombs near the fuel-selling section, where fuel tankers were parked, causing heavy casualties and extensive property damage.

Blame unconfirmed, tensions rising

Yohana Akol Ngor, the caretaker minister of information for Abyei, told Reuters that Sudanese armed forces were responsible for Monday’s attack, but he provided no evidence for the claim, which has not been independently verified. Sudan has not publicly responded to the allegation.

South Sudan’s foreign ministry, in a statement late on Monday, said the attack struck multiple locations within the market and conveyed the government’s “strong protest and deep concern” to Sudan’s ambassador in Juba. The statement stopped short of naming those behind the attack.

The strike came a day after a separate drone attack near a market in the town of Al-Dibab in Sudan’s West Kordofan state reportedly killed at least 80 people. For more on Watan News’s international coverage, visit watannews.dk/en.

A disputed, oil-rich borderland

Abyei has long been one of the most volatile patches of ground in the region. The oil-rich area is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan and is jointly administered under agreements reached in 2011. The territory sees frequent violence, usually involving rival ethnic groups or armed militias.

Last year, at least six Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed and eight wounded in a drone attack on a UN base in Abyei. Political tensions over the area have also been rising ahead of South Sudan’s planned December 2026 elections, which are expected to include the disputed region — a move Sudan opposes.