Abyei drone strike: UN doubles patrols as residents demand investigation

New Delhi: UN peacekeepers have doubled patrols in disputed Abyei following Monday’s drone attacks near Amiet Market and Todach, while residents press for an investigation. The mission is continuing casualty evacuations and medical care alongside efforts to prevent retaliatory violence.

The Abyei Special Administrative Area is an area of 10,546 square kilometres (4,072 square miles) on the border between South Sudan and Sudan that has been accorded “special administrative status” by the 2004 Protocol on the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War.

The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (Unisfa) said it had intensified day-and-night patrols following the October 19 attacks near Amiet Market and Todach, approximately 15 kilometres from Abyei town. “We are taking all measures to strengthen security in the area and have intensified day and night patrols to protect civilians,” the mission said.

Peacekeepers have also extinguished most of the large fires and continued assisting casualties. According to the UN’s Wednesday briefing, mine-action personnel are assessing affected areas for unexploded ordnance.

The UN reported at least 80 deaths and 27 injured people treated by its personnel, with others still missing. Abyei authorities separately reported 153 fatalities, as RNA Media reported earlier. The figures have not been reconciled, and casualty verification continues. Residents continue to press for an inquiry

Community leaders, women, young people and civil society representatives demonstrated peacefully on Tuesday, demanding protection and accountability. According to Eye Radio, they submitted a petition to Unisfa’s acting head and force commander, Lieutenant General Ganesh Kumar Shrestha, requesting an investigation and asking that the matter be brought before the UN security council.

Abyei civil society representative Rose Monytoc Dau blamed Sudan’s armed forces in the petition. Shrestha acknowledged the protesters’ concerns and said their appeal would be forwarded to the relevant authorities. No formal Unisfa investigation or referral to the UN security council has been publicly confirmed.

Radio Dabanga separately reported that the British embassy had called for an independent investigation. The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, condemned the attacks and said: “There will need to be accountability.”

South Sudan has accused Sudan’s army and summoned Sudan’s ambassador. An anonymous Sudanese military officer told the Associated Press that the army targeted fuel tankers allegedly bound for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), although his account of the targets and victims remains unverified.

“We urge all parties to refrain from any retaliatory actions that could further endanger civilian lives and undermine peace and security,” Unisfa said.

The UN has also urged Sudan and South Sudan to uphold Abyei’s demilitarised status and maintain dialogue. Wednesday’s briefing referred to an upcoming Joint Political and Security Mechanism meeting in Khartoum.

For now, expanded patrols, casualty verification and diplomatic engagement remain the confirmed responses, while an independent investigation has yet to be announced.