Sudan army chief orders probe into airstrike that killed 72

October 15, 2026

1 minute read

SUDAN’S army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on Monday ordered a probe into what he called a “painful incident” near the Egyptian border, where an airstrike hit a sprawling gold mining site two days earlier.

The rights group Emergency Lawyers said Saturday’s airstrike in the mountainous Jabal al-Uqaydat area killed 72 people, attributing the attack to Egypt.

AFP could not independently verify the claim, and Egypt has issued no official comment.

A statement from the Transitional Sovereignty Council, which Burhan heads, said he had formed a fact-finding committee comprising prosecutors, judicial officials and security representatives “to investigate the circumstances of the incident, ascertain all the circumstances and facts associated with it, and submit a report on the results of the investigation”.

Egypt is Burhan’s closest ally and a key backer in his war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which erupted in April 2023.

A witness at the mine had described seeing a plane carry out several strikes on Saturday morning, sparking panic at the site.

The attack was the second reported this year on Jabal al-Uqaydat. In June, airstrikes reportedly carried out by Egypt killed 23 workers at the informal gold mining site.

At the time, the Egyptian military did not claim responsibility but said it had conducted a “large-scale operation” against illegal gold mining within its borders.

The border between Sudan and Egypt is disputed, with both countries claiming the resource-rich Halayeb Triangle. —AFP

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