OMM Redaksiyası
Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Monday ordered an investigation into the reported killing of miners near the Egyptian border on Saturday.
The council said a fact-finding committee would include representatives of the Public Prosecution and relevant judicial and security bodies. It will investigate the circumstances and report its findings, but no deadline was given.
Burhan said protecting Sudanese citizens’ lives, safety and dignity was a fundamental responsibility of the state. He called for the incident to be treated seriously, the facts established and borders protected and respected. He added that the two countries’ leaderships were in contact to clarify what happened and make the facts public.
The independent Emergency Lawyers group said on Sunday that the death toll from an airstrike in the North al-Wadi area inside Sudan had risen to 72 miners. The group said Egyptian aircraft were suspected of carrying out the attack.
Earlier, the Sudan Doctors Network reported that 13 miners had been killed and 28 injured in aerial bombardment near the border. Cairo had not immediately commented on the reports.
Sudan’s artisanal mining sector employs more than 2 million people and produces around 80% of the country’s gold, often under harsh conditions. The government allows artisanal mining while seeking to regulate the sector, which provides work for large numbers of Sudanese.
Gold is a major source of foreign currency for Sudan, which lost three-quarters of its oil revenues after South Sudan seceded in July 2011. The country has been at war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023. The conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced about 13 million people, according to UN and international estimates.
