At least 72 people killed in airstrike on gold mine in northern Sudan... Military begins investigation

(Johannesburg = Yonhap News) Correspondent Na Confirmation = At ​​least 72 miners are reported to have died in an airstrike at a mine in northern Sudan on the border with Egypt.

According to AFP on the 12th (local time), the 'Emergency Lawyers' Group, which has been investigating conflict situations and human rights violations, including the Sudanese civil war, pointed out the Egyptian military as the main agent of the attack, saying that 72 people were killed in an airstrike at the Jabal al-Ukaidat mine in a mountainous area on the 10th.

The Sudan Tribune, an online media outlet based in France that reports on the situation in Sudan, reported, citing three survivors, that at least 200 people were killed and hundreds injured in an airstrike on a gold mining site in the Shamal al-Wadi region.

Survivors said warplanes fired missiles at the miners' encampment, destroying their makeshift shelters and collapsing mine shafts.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan's military, ordered the establishment of a fact-finding committee comprised of prosecutors and judicial and security officials to investigate this incident.

Sudanese authorities said they were in contact with their Egyptian counterparts to understand the circumstances of the incident.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelati emphasized the importance of mutual respect, territorial integrity, and border security between the two countries in a phone call with his Sudanese counterpart.

However, the Egyptian government did not officially announce whether it was responsible for the airstrike.

In Sudan, artisanal gold mining became prevalent as the economic foundation collapsed after the civil war broke out between government forces and the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023.

Both government forces and rebels use gold as their main source of funds, and it is known that a significant amount of mined gold is smuggled to neighboring countries such as Egypt.

Egypt is known to support General Alburhan and the Sudanese government forces, but it views the war unfolding along its 1,200 km long border with Sudan as a serious threat to its security, AFP explained.

There are also concerns about illegal mining spreading across borders into the country.

In Jabal al-Ukaidat, AFP reported that 23 workers at an unofficial gold mine were killed in an airstrike in June.

At the time, the Egyptian military did not admit responsibility for the airstrikes, but said it had carried out a "large-scale operation" targeting illegal mining on its territory.

Meanwhile, a Sudanese security official told AFP that on the 12th, a gunman shot three Egyptian nationals in a market south of Khartoum, Sudan's capital, killing two and wounding one.

It was not immediately clear whether the shooting was related to the gold mine raid on the 10th.