Bangla Press Desk: Seventy-two civilian gold miners were killed in an airstrike along the Egypt-Sudan border; a regional human rights organization has confirmed this information.
"Emergency Lawyers," a human rights group based in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, reported that the attack took place on Saturday (October 10) in an area housing a popular gold mine in Sudan's River Nile State. According to the BBC, a fighter jet fired more than five missiles at the miners' camp around 6:00 AM, causing their living quarters and mining pits to collapse and resulting in numerous casualties. Citing a survivor, the *Sudan Tribune* reported that the actual death toll could be significantly higher and that many people sustained serious injuries.
Neither the Egyptian government nor Sudan's current authorities have yet issued an official statement regarding the attack. However, Egypt has previously faced accusations of launching lethal attacks on gold prospectors under the pretext of halting illegal activities in the border region. The Egyptian government maintains that it is conducting rigorous security operations to curb illegal migration, drug smuggling, and unauthorized mining along the border. "Emergency Lawyers" stated that this attack on civilians constitutes a gross violation of international humanitarian law and amounts to a "war crime."
At the same time, the incident highlights the lack of government control over Sudanese territory.
It is worth noting that due to the ongoing civil war in Sudan, civilians in border areas have resorted to extracting gold through highly hazardous, unauthorized methods to earn a living. As the gold-rich River Nile State is situated in a region historically prone to smuggling, illegally extracted gold is easily trafficked out; the proceeds from this smuggling serve as a primary source of income for armed rebel groups in conflict zones. Meanwhile, the influx of this illicit Sudanese gold into the Egyptian market threatens to severely damage Egypt's legitimate gold trade—a concern that prompted Egyptian border guards to seize 86 tons of gold ore and mining equipment as recently as last June.
BP/TD
