Drone strike on market in Sudan's disputed Abyei region kills at least 153, officials say

Summary

A drone strike on a market in the disputed Abyei region, on the border between Sudan and South Sudan, killed at least 153 people on Monday according to a local official, and left dozens injured. A fire at a nearby fuel depot was still burning on Tuesday, and one report says the drone caused the fire when it hit the depot. Local and South Sudanese officials blamed Sudan's military for the attack. The BBC, citing sources, reported a higher toll, with its headline putting the death toll above 300, and said drones hit a truck carrying people to a funeral as well as a market it alleged supplied fuel to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF); these claims are sourced rather than confirmed. The Guardian reported that the strike pushed the toll from attacks in recent days above 250, in a war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF that erupted in April 2023. Africanews reported that the United Nations condemned drone strikes on civilians and infrastructure in Sudan. The reports differ on the death toll and on details of the attack.

Timeline

1. ABC News

   20 Oct 2026, 15:58 UTCSource ↗

   Reports, citing an official, that a drone strike on a fuel depot at a market in South Sudan's disputed Abyei region killed at least 153 people.

2. BBC

   20 Oct 2026, 16:09 UTCSource ↗

   Reports, citing sources, that Sudan army drones hit mourners on a truck and a market alleged to be supplying fuel to the RSF, with a headline putting the death toll above 300.

3. France 24

   20 Oct 2026, 16:24 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that at least 153 people were killed in a drone strike on a market in the disputed Abyei region, that a fire at a nearby fuel depot was still burning on Tuesday, and that local officials blamed Sudan's military for the Monday attack, which also left dozens injured.

4. Deutsche Welle

   20 Oct 2026, 18:09 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that a drone strike on a market in the Abyei border region killed around 150 people and caused a large fire when it hit a fuel depot, and that South Sudanese officials blamed Sudan's military.

5. Al Jazeera

   21 Oct 2026, 02:18 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that a drone strike on an Abyei market near the Sudan-South Sudan border killed 150 people.

6. The Guardian

   21 Oct 2026, 02:20 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that a drone strike on a market in the Abyei border region killed at least 153 people on Monday, according to a local official, and pushed the toll from attacks in recent days above 250.

7. ABC News Australia

   21 Oct 2026, 05:29 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that a Sudanese drone strike on a market killed more than 150 people, and that Sudan's civil war has spilled over into disputed territory along the border with South Sudan.

8. Africanews

   21 Oct 2026, 08:11 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that the United Nations condemned drone strikes on civilians and infrastructure in Sudan, as South Sudan said more than 150 people were killed in a strike in the disputed Abyei border region.

9. NDTV

   21 Oct 2026, 08:39 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that a drone strike on a market in the disputed Abyei region killed over 150 people, with a wounded person carried to hospital.

10. Sky News

    21 Oct 2026, 08:48 UTCSource ↗

    Reports that a drone strike on a fuel depot in a disputed region on the Sudan-South Sudan border killed at least 153 people.