Illustrative image. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Amy Abbott)
A Sudanese rights group said strikes on October 10 killed at least 72 people at a gold-mining site near Egypt’s border with Sudan.
Emergency Lawyers attributed the strike to Egyptian warplanes. Cairo has not officially commented on the strikes, while Sudan’s military-led Sovereign Council said the two governments were in contact to establish the circumstances.
Sources in Cairo told The National that the strike targeted illegal gold prospectors who were operating on territory claimed by Egypt and had repeatedly ignored warnings to leave.
Images circulating online appeared to show a leaflet warning of “immediate targeting,” although the material has not been independently verified.
Click to see full-size image.
The incident follows similar strikes that reportedly killed 23 workers in the Jabal al-Uqaydat mining region in June. At the time, Egypt’s military announced a large-scale security operation against criminal networks involved in illegal gold mining, drug and weapons trafficking, and irregular migration.
Egyptian authorities detained 223 people, including 87 Egyptians and 136 foreign nationals, and seized weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and mining equipment during the operation.
The crackdown came after repeated confrontations along the southern frontier. Egyptian border guard officer Lt. Col. Ahmed Adel Gouda was killed on February 9 in a clash involving border troops and Sudanese armed miners.
Later on March 9, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Samir Abdel Wahab Nour El-Din, chief of staff of the Southern Military Zone’s border guards, died during a security operation against smuggling networks.
Illegal mining and gold smuggling have expanded amid Sudan’s war, which began more than three years ago. A 2024 United Nations report found that more than half of Sudan’s gold production was smuggled out of the country, with illicit trade providing revenue to networks operating across poorly controlled border areas. Egypt has been badly effected by this.
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