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Dozens of gold prospectors killed in strikes on Egypt-Sudan border, rights group says
BBC • • world
Key Points:
- At least 72 civilians prospecting for gold in Sudan's River Nile state were killed in air strikes, according to the regional rights group Emergency Lawyers, with the attack targeting artisanal miners at popular gold mining sites.
- The strikes, allegedly conducted by jets, violated Sudan's sovereignty and international humanitarian law, with Emergency Lawyers suggesting they may constitute war crimes; the death toll could rise as many more were reportedly injured.
- Eyewitnesses described the attack as involving multiple missiles fired at miners' camps early on Saturday, destroying camps and excavation pits with people inside.
- The incident follows previous accusations against Egyptian forces for similar attacks on artisanal miners near the Sudanese border, amid Egypt's security campaign to combat illegal migration, drug smuggling, and illicit mining.
- Sudan's civil war has increased artisanal mining in remote border areas, which are linked to cross-border smuggling routes, with Egypt having seized large quantities of gold ore and prospecting equipment in recent months.
