72 miners killed in airstrike near Sudan-Egypt border

Seventy-two artisanal miners were killed in an airstrike in northern Sudan close to the Egyptian border, rights monitor Emergency Lawyers said on Sunday, in the second such incident in recent months.

Emergency Lawyers blamed the Egyptian air force for the strike, which it said took place, on Saturday.

In a statement on Monday, the Egyptian military said the latest phase of its campaign against illegal gold mining in southern Egypt was being carried out, after warning leaflets had been dropped on “criminal elements”.

The military made no reference to the airstrike in northern Sudan or the deaths of the miners.

The campaign, launched in June, aimed to “impose the full authority of the state within Egyptian territory and protect its capabilities and national resources,” the statement added.

Egypt’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the airstrike, but on Monday Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on X that he had “reaffirmed” with his Sudanese counterpart “our historic fraternal ties and commitment to continued coordination and consultation.” Sudan’s army-led government said on Monday the incident occurred in a border area between Sudan and Egypt and that it was investigating.

“It is important to treat this incident seriously, guaranteeing the uncovering of facts, and the protection and respect of borders.” The Sudanese government said Sudanese and Egyptian leaders had been in contact immediately after the strike but it stopped short of directly blaming Egypt.

Two Egyptian security officials said the strike was intended to end a state of “chaos” along the border and efforts byEgyptian and Sudanese groups to seize control of mining areas.

Images shared on social media and by local rights groups but not verified by Reuters, showed dozens of bodies strewn among rubble and others wrapped in funeral shrouds, and miners describing an airstrike on the area.

Emergency Lawyers said such a cross-border attack would violate international law.

Northern Sudan has seen an influx of artisanal miners and makeshift gold mining operations since the country’s civil war upended traditional livelihoods.

Gold has become a critical source of revenue for both sides in the conflict, and experts and industry participants say much of the metal is smuggled into neighbouring Egypt.

Airstrikes in June targeted a group suspected of illegal gold mining, smuggling and drug trafficking, killing an unspecified number, Egyptian military officials said at that time, which they said occurred on Egyptian territory.

The border between Egypt and Sudan is porous, and under dispute in two mineral-rich regions known as Halayeb and Shalateen.