Dozens of gold prospectors killed in strikes on Egypt-Sudan border, rights group says

What the report says

A regional rights group says at least 72 civilians were killed in air strikes on an artisanal gold mining camp in Sudan’s River Nile state, near the Egypt-Sudan border, on Saturday. Emergency Lawyers, based in Khartoum, said jets hit prospectors at a popular mining site and that the toll was provisional and could rise. The BBC report says neither Egypt nor Sudan’s de facto authorities had commented on the allegation at the time of publication.

The group accused the attackers of targeting unarmed civilians and said the strikes may amount to war crimes under international humanitarian law. Sudan Tribune, as cited by the BBC, reported that a survivor believed the number of dead could be higher and that many people were wounded. Eyewitness accounts described the attack beginning around 06:00 local time, with missiles striking camps and excavation pits where people were working.

The incident comes amid repeated allegations of violence around gold prospecting sites along Sudan’s porous border with Egypt. The BBC noted earlier claims this year that Egyptian forces used drones and artillery against artisanal miners in the same region, which Cairo has linked to efforts to stop illegal mining, smuggling and migration. Gold has become a source of tension because Sudan’s war has driven more civilians into dangerous informal mining, while smuggled ore can also feed cross-border trafficking routes and armed groups.