Sudan: 72 gold miners killed in an airstrike at Jabal al-Uqaydat, Egyptian air force implicated

Approximately 72 people were killed in an airstrike on the Jabal al-Uqaydat artisanal mining site, located in the mountains on the border between Sudan and Egypt, Africanews reported on October 18, 2026. Human rights organizations attribute the attack to the Egyptian air force. According to the same media outlet, which did not provide a precise date, the strike took place on a Saturday morning, the week prior to this publication.

The figure of 72 deaths is an estimate. A survivor, Omar Mohie El Deen Abdullah, claims that nearly 300 people or more were working at the site; he says he lost his brother and two cousins there. Another injured miner, Ali Mohamed Hamza, described to Africanews an aircraft that flew over the area several times before striking. The number of wounded has not been established.

An area claimed by two states

Jabal al-Uqaydat is a vast artisanal mining zone located on territory claimed by both Sudan and Egypt, which also serves as a smuggling corridor. The Egyptian army did not respond directly to the accusations: it indicated that it was conducting a campaign against illegal gold mining near the border and claimed to have dropped warning leaflets before its operation.

This is not the first incident at this site: in June 2026, strikes attributed to Egypt killed 23 workers there, according to Africanews. Cairo did not claim responsibility for those strikes.

Khartoum opens an investigation, Cairo speaks of territorial integrity

The head of the army and de facto leader of Sudan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, described the event as a "painful incident in a border area" and, through the Transitional Sovereignty Council, ordered an investigation to be conducted by a committee of prosecutors, magistrates, and security officials. Sudanese foreign affairs advisor Amjad Farid denounced it as an "unjustified and unacceptable crime." Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty spoke with his Sudanese counterpart and insisted on the mutual respect of territorial integrity.

Gold, the last resort of an economy destroyed by war

Behind the human toll lies the economic collapse of Sudan. The war has ruined livelihoods and pushed thousands of people toward gold mining sites, one of the few resources still productive in the country—and a source of income for both sides. Omar Abdullah, the father of a victim, explained to Africanews that harvests have largely failed and that a bag of flour now costs 700,000 Sudanese pounds.

The investigation announced by Khartoum has no public timeline. It will have to establish what struck a site where civilians were digging the earth to survive.