Two Egyptian truck drivers were killed and a third seriously wounded after a gunman opened fire at a market in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, on Monday, prompting an investigation by Sudanese police and diplomatic intervention from Cairo.
Sudan’s police said the shooting occurred at approximately 2 p.m. local time in Khartoum’s local market, where an armed individual opened fire on a group of people, killing two Egyptian nationals and injuring another.
Police said officers arrested the suspected attacker shortly after the incident and recovered the weapon believed to have been used in the shooting.
The injured Egyptian was transferred to the Military Medical Corps Hospital in Omdurman for treatment.
Authorities described the attack as an isolated criminal incident, adding that investigations were continuing to establish the circumstances and motive.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that the victims were truck drivers and said it was closely monitoring developments.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty instructed Egypt’s ambassador to Sudan, Yasser Sorour, to contact Sudanese authorities immediately, seek clarification about the attack and arrange for the bodies of the two victims to be returned to Egypt.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nader Zaki said Sudanese officials had confirmed the suspect’s arrest.
The Egyptian ambassador also met the governor of Khartoum, who offered condolences and checked on the injured driver. Medical personnel said the wounded man required urgent surgery.
Shooting follows deadly border airstrikes
The killings come amid heightened tensions between Sudan and Egypt following deadly airstrikes on artisanal gold mining sites near their shared border.
On Saturday, October 10, warplanes reportedly struck mining locations in the Shamal al-Wadi area, killing scores of Sudanese miners and triggering widespread public anger.
Sudanese rights group Emergency Lawyers accused the Egyptian military of carrying out the strikes, reporting at least 72 deaths, while Sudan Tribune cited survivors who estimated the toll at 200 or more.
The higher casualty figure has not been independently verified, and Egyptian authorities have not publicly acknowledged responsibility for the latest strikes.
On Monday, Sudan’s army-aligned authorities announced the formation of a fact-finding committee to investigate the airstrikes, following mounting demands for accountability and protection of Sudanese civilians.
The committee is expected to include representatives of judicial, prosecutorial and security institutions.
The latest violence has renewed scrutiny of security along the Sudanese-Egyptian border, where repeated confrontations involving Egyptian forces and Sudanese artisanal miners have resulted in deaths, injuries and arrests.
In March, at least nine Sudanese miners were reportedly killed during armed clashes with Egyptian border guards in the Wadi al-Ansari area, while further incidents were reported in June.
Despite the timing of Monday’s shooting in Khartoum, authorities have not established any connection between the attack on the Egyptian drivers and the reported border airstrikes.
Police have not publicly disclosed the suspect’s motive, and investigations remain underway.
