Air strike on illegal gold mine near Sudan-Egypt border kills 72 workers, rights group says

An air strike has hit an illegal gold mine near the disputed border between Sudan and Egypt, killing 72 workers on the spot and leaving several others seriously injured. According to information from human rights activists, thousands of labourers were working in the remote area in search of gold when the attack took place. The sudden bombing caused panic, and the workers fled in whichever direction they could to save their lives.

A human rights organisation called Emergency Lawyers has claimed that the Egyptian Air Force carried out the attack. The organisation has not, however, presented any official evidence to support its claim. There has been no independent international confirmation of who was behind the attack. The Egyptian government and its military have not issued any official statement on the incident so far.

Two workers who survived the attack described the scene to Agence France-Presse (AFP). One eyewitness said a fighter jet dropped bombs on the mine area five times in succession. The roar of the aircraft and the repeated blasts shook the whole area. Fearing further attacks, the workers ran to nearby hills and hid there for hours.

The second eyewitness said that as soon as the explosions began, thousands of workers at the mine scattered to save themselves. Some ran towards the Al-Ansari gold market, while others headed into the desert. While fleeing, he saw the bodies of several workers lying by the roadside and in the sand. Many more workers are feared to be buried under the huge heap of debris from the mine. According to local organisations, the actual death toll could be well above 72.

This is not the first such attack on gold mines on the Sudan-Egypt border. In June, a similar air strike hit an unlicensed gold mine called Jabal al-Uqaydat near the Egyptian border, killing 23 innocent workers. Egypt was held responsible for that attack as well.

After the June incident, the Egyptian military said it had begun a special campaign against illegal gold mining inside its border. It did not, however, mention any direct bombing of the mine. With a second major incident in a row, questions have been raised again about the safety of the poor workers who risk their lives at the border gold mines for meagre earnings.

Sudan and Egypt have long disputed the territory known as the Halaib Triangle. The large area is rich in gold and other valuable minerals, and both countries claim it. It is considered extremely sensitive geopolitically. Egypt is regarded as a close ally of Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Sudan itself has been engulfed in a civil war for more than three years. More than 2 lakh civilians have died in the bloody conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The poor workers in the border region are bearing the brunt of this political instability and chaos.