The authorities of the Abyei region, a disputed territory between Sudan and South Sudan, have updated the number of dead caused by the drone attack on the Amiet market to 226. Local authorities blame the bombing on the Sudanese Armed Forces, while the Khartoum Government has not yet publicly reacted to these accusations.
"The incident has left the area in a serious and tragic humanitarian situation. We have found two mass graves. The first, located to the right of the market, contains approximately 153 victims; the second, 73," declared the Minister of Information of Abyei, Yohana Akol Ngor, in an interview with the South Sudanese broadcaster Eye Radio, in which he detailed the results of the visit that regional authorities made to the market, located about ten kilometers north of the city of Abyei.
Akol added that "there is also another point where, according to reports, a large number of people lost their lives after the first explosion." "At that moment, there was an articulated vehicle transporting about 26 people," he noted, without providing a specific number of fatalities.
After the attack, more than 8,000 people have been forced to leave the area and have moved to the city of Abyei and its surroundings in search of protection, according to the minister himself, who has appealed to humanitarian organizations and United Nations agencies to provide urgent assistance to the newly displaced.
UN Condemnation and UNISFA Deployment
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has "strongly condemned the drone attacks carried out on October 19 in the Abyei area, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians, including women and children, near the Amiet market and in Todach, as well as leaving many others injured," according to a statement released by his office.
In the same text, the highest official of the United Nations has warned that "the number of victims is expected to increase, as the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) continues to verify the number of affected, given that there are many missing persons."
Expressing his "most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives," the UN Secretary-General explained that, after the attack, UNISFA sent to the area "medical personnel, firefighting equipment, and rapid response forces to provide emergency care, facilitate the evacuation of victims, and prevent the spread of fire."
At the same time, he emphasized that "attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited by International Law" and that "all parties in the armed conflict must comply with their obligations under International Humanitarian Law, which includes respecting and protecting the civilian population at all times."
He also considered it "necessary that accountability is demanded," urging the governments of South Sudan and Sudan to "adopt all measures within their reach to help prevent new attacks and maintain the demilitarized status of Abyei."
Guterres thus avoided attributing the attack to a specific actor, despite the South Sudanese authorities, who have provided the latest death toll, directly pointing to the Sudanese Army as responsible for the massacre.
A key territory still without definitive status
The political status of Abyei —where UNISFA remains deployed— was left unresolved after South Sudan's independence in 2011 and continues to be one of the main points of friction between both countries, both for its geostrategic relevance and for its energy resources.
The future of the region was supposed to be decided through a referendum provided for in the peace agreements signed in 2005, which led to the secession of South Sudan. However, the consultation has not taken place, as the dgok dinka have blocked the process by outright rejecting the participation of the nomadic miseriya in the voting.