Original Coverage & Source Attribution: www.yahoo.com
The United Nations Security Council on Friday called for an investigation into drone strikes in Abyei, a disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan, that killed dozens of people.
The council strongly condemned the attacks near a market and the town of Todach, according to a statement issued by the UN’s most powerful body.
Local authorities said at least 150 people were killed in the strikes on Monday. The United Nations has so far confirmed at least 80 deaths, with others still missing. The attacks also sparked large fires, most of which were extinguished by the UN peacekeeping force in Abyei (UNISFA), the United Nations said.
The Security Council stressed that Abyei must remain demilitarized and warned that deliberate attacks on civilians could constitute war crimes.
Local media quoted a government spokesman in the resource-rich region as saying that tanker trucks had been targeted in an area of the market where Sudanese traders were operating.
South Sudan’s government blamed the Sudanese army for the strikes, but the army denied responsibility.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of civil war. The status of Abyei remains unresolved, and a UN peacekeeping mission has been stationed there since 2011.
Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been fighting for control of the country since April 2023. The civil war has also destabilized the situation in the disputed border region, according to the UN.
The incident is one of a series of drone attacks that have dramatically changed the course of the war in Sudan this year. At least 1,120 civilians were killed by drone strikes in Sudan in the first half of the year alone, according to the UN human rights office (OHCHR).
