Abyei drone strikes: UN warns of new danger in disputed Sudan–South Sudan region

The United Nations has warned that drone warfare has brought a dangerous new threat to Abyei, an oil-rich area claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan.

Briefing the UN Security Council, peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said drone strikes on 19 October killed at least 30 people, wounded about 59 and drove many families from their homes. They were the first attacks of their kind in the area, and UN peacekeepers are still checking whether more people died. A local official had earlier put the death toll from the strike on a market at 153.

Abyei was already reeling from violence. On 15 September, fighting between Ngok Dinka, Misseriya and Nuba communities around the Amiet market killed 124 people. Amiet is the area's main trading centre and a crossing point used by over 49,000 people escaping Sudan's civil war, both refugees and South Sudanese returning home.

Lacroix asked the Council to better protect the UN force in Abyei, known as UNISFA, from attacks from the air, and said it needed the Council's support more than ever.

Across the border in Sudan, drones continue to hit power stations and fuel depots, making aid work harder. Less than half of the UN's $2.9 billion aid appeal for Sudan has been paid for, and the UN migration agency warns that the only clinic at the Wunthou border crossing, which serves about 100,000 people, could shut by December without money.