Omanghana
Survivors of an airstrike that reportedly killed at least 72 people at a gold-mining camp near the disputed Sudan-Egypt border have described an aircraft repeatedly circling the site before attacking a gathering of workers.
The October 10, 2026, bombardment struck Jabal al-Uqaydat, a remote mountainous mining area claimed by both countries. Rights organizations, including the Khartoum-based Emergency Lawyers group, have accused the Egyptian Air Force of carrying out the attack. Egypt has not directly acknowledged responsibility for the strike.
Miner Ali Mohamed Hamza said an aircraft appeared at about 8:00 a.m. and circled the camp three times. He believed it was filming the area before launching an attack on its fourth pass.
Another survivor, Omar Mohie El Deen Abdullah, said the first missile landed in the middle of a crowd of approximately 300 miners. He suffered minor hand injuries but lost his brother and two cousins.
Accounts from affected families highlight the economic pressures driving people to remote mining sites. Many workers reportedly turned to gold mining after Sudan’s civil war disrupted farming and other sources of income.
Families described severe increases in the cost of necessities, citing flour prices as high as 700,000 Sudanese pounds per sack. For those unable to sustain themselves through agriculture, informal mining had become an essential source of earnings.
Although Egypt has not specifically confirmed the reported strike, its military announced a joint campaign with police against what it described as criminal elements and illegal gold-mining activities in the border region. Authorities said warning leaflets had been dropped before operations intended to enforce border sovereignty.
In Sudan, Transitional Sovereignty Council chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ordered an investigation into the incident. A fact-finding committee comprising judicial, prosecutorial and security representatives was formed to establish what happened.
The attack follows an earlier reported bombardment at the same mining area in June 2026, which killed 23 artisanal miners.
Amid the latest tensions, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Sudanese counterpart held telephone discussions stressing mutual respect and territorial integrity. Responsibility for the October strike remains contested as the investigation proceeds.
Source: Omanghana
