Airstrikes targeting artisanal gold mining areas in the far north of Sudan, near the Egyptian border, on Tuesday and Wednesday resulted in a number of deaths and injuries among traditional miners. The exact casualty toll remains unknown due to difficulties in accessing the targeted locations.
Activists circulated videos on social media platforms that they said documented raids carried out by warplanes or drones directly targeting mining sites around the Jabal Al-Aqidat area.
The area, along with Jabal Al-Ahmar, is considered one of the largest artisanal gold mining zones in northern Sudan, employing thousands of traditional miners. Mining activities extend from there to the Osif area in the eastern state of the Red Sea.
According to testimonies from several workers in the artisanal mining sector, warplanes and at least one drone carried out direct strikes on sites crowded with miners on Tuesday, killing a number of people instantly and injuring dozens of others with varying degrees of severity.
Local sources indicated that the bombardment resumed during the early hours of Wednesday morning, increasing the number of casualties and spreading panic among workers throughout the area.
