At least 72 Sudanese artisanal miners were killed in an airstrike in northern Sudan on Saturday, according to the rights monitor Emergency Lawyers, which blamed the Egyptian air force.
That claim has not been independently verified. The Egyptian military did not comment, and Egypt’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Emergency Lawyers announced the toll Sunday and said a cross border attack of this kind would violate international law. It described the strike as the second of its kind in several months.
What is known so far
Images shared on social media and by local rights groups, which have not been verified, show dozens of bodies in rubble and others wrapped in funeral shrouds, and miners describe an airstrike on the area.
Reports so far give only the general location, northern Sudan, and the toll could change as recovery work continues.
Why Sudanese artisanal miners are exposed
Northern Sudan has seen an influx of artisanal miners and makeshift gold mines since war broke out in April 2023 between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The fighting disrupted other livelihoods, and gold became the main source of cash for both sides.
Experts and people in the sector say much of that gold is smuggled into Egypt. Sudan’s state mining company reported $2.29 billion in official gold exports from January to September, but estimates suggest between 48% and 60% of output leaves through informal channels.
Artisanal mining is dangerous even without bombs. An earlier collapse at a defunct gold mine in West Kordofan killed at least 38 people after miners returned to work it when guards left.
Artisanal miners typically work with simple tools in shafts and open pits, and they often gather in large numbers around productive sites.
Violence elsewhere in Sudan
The strike came a day after a drone attack killed about 31 people at a camp for displaced people in Blue Nile state, in an army controlled area on one of the war’s frontlines, according to the United Nations.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned that civilians in Sudan face attacks from the air, with drones increasingly used.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions since 2023, according to aid agencies and the United Nations.
Gold has also drawn attention from Washington. The U.S. Treasury says gold revenue has helped fund the war, and it has sanctioned commanders on both sides and companies linked to the trade.
Egypt shares a long border with Sudan and has hosted large numbers of Sudanese people who fled the war.
Attacks on civilians are prohibited under the laws of war. Investigators will need to establish who carried out the strike, what the target was and whether it was a military objective, none of which is yet clear.
The deaths add a new strain to a war where gold, borders and civilians are tightly linked. Until investigators confirm who struck the site and why, the toll of 72 remains a rights monitor’s count, not a confirmed finding.
