An airstrike killed 114 people in the Jabal al-Uqaydat mining area of Sudan near the Egyptian border on 10 October. Egypt is the most likely suspect for the bombing of the artisanal gold mine.
Egyptian forces reportedly struck the same location in June, an operation that killed at least 15 people. Before the June operation, Egypt distributed leaflets to warn civilians to evacuate the area.
Mohamed Salah reported that scuffles occurred between miners and Egyptian security forces before the 10 October bombing. Salah stated, "While Egyptian authorities have sought to curb illegal border trade for a long time, locals did not anticipate an escalation involving military aircraft."
Egypt receives an estimated 60 percent of the gold produced and smuggled from parts of northern Sudan bordering the country. A three-year war between the Sudanese military and the rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has driven people to the mountains.
Miners from conflict-hit regions like Darfur and Kordofan use mercury and cyanide to process gold. Ammar noted that "Sudan doesn’t have jobs, so they go to the mountains and dig with their hands to live."
Ammar added that these individuals have just come to the area to earn a living through their own hard work. Hala al-Karib said, "They are blocked from any other means of livelihood with the collapse of the education system [and] the high rates of unemployment. What other options do they have to survive?"
Al-Karib described the strike as a crime and stated there is nothing to justify it.
