At least 12 people were killed and several others wounded after a drone strike attributed to the Sudanese Armed Forces hit a fuel market near Sudan’s border with Chad, according to Chadian and Sudanese sources.
The attack struck the market in Adikong, west of El Geneina in West Darfur, on Thursday. The area lies close to the Adré border crossing, a major route for humanitarian supplies and commercial goods entering Darfur.
Darfur24, citing local sources, placed the death toll at 13 and said three Chadian nationals were among those killed. Their bodies were transferred across the border to the Chadian town of Adré.
The Sudanese outlet said dozens of people, including children, were wounded and that several remained in critical condition. Some victims had yet to be identified because their bodies were badly burned in the fire that followed the strike.
The attack reportedly destroyed the fuel market and set several civilian vehicles ablaze.
Another local report, citing an official in the area, claimed that as many as 35 civilians were killed. The sharply differing casualty figures could not immediately be reconciled.
Although some accounts described the target as the Adré humanitarian crossing, available reporting indicates that the strike hit the nearby Adikong fuel market rather than the crossing itself.
Adikong is an important trading point for communities on both sides of the border, supplying fuel, food and other goods to large parts of West Darfur.
The area has been repeatedly attacked from the air. Darfur24 said a previous drone strike on the same market in March killed at least seven civilians.
Thursday’s attack came amid growing tension between Sudan and Chad following accusations that Sudanese aircraft and drones bombed a Chadian military convoy more than 100 kilometres inside Chad earlier this month.
Chad subsequently raised its military alert level and deployed armoured vehicles and signal-jamming equipment near its eastern frontier. Washington has also accused the Sudanese army of conducting strikes inside Chad and warned against allowing Sudan’s war to spread across the region.
Sudan’s army-controlled foreign ministry rejected the accusations, saying responsibility should not be assigned before an independent investigation. It said Sudan respected the sovereignty of neighbouring states while reserving the right to confront threats to its security.
