At least 72 civilians searching for gold were killed in air strikes near the Sudan-Egypt border, a Sudanese rights group said, accusing Egyptian military aircraft of targeting artisanal miners in a remote, resource-rich region.

Emergency Lawyers, a Khartoum-based organisation documenting abuses during Sudan’s war, said the strikes hit civilian mining sites on Saturday in the northern Wadi area. The group said the reported death toll was preliminary and that efforts to verify the casualties were continuing.

The Egyptian government and Sudanese authorities had not publicly commented on the latest allegations at the time of reporting. The aircraft involved and the precise circumstances of the attack could not be independently verified.

In a statement on Sunday, Emergency Lawyers condemned the reported attack, saying the deliberate targeting of unarmed civilians violated international humanitarian law and the right to life and could constitute war crimes.

The organisation also said repeated attacks on mining areas along the frontier raised concerns about Sudan’s territorial sovereignty and the authorities’ ability to protect civilians in the region.

The latest strikes come amid escalating tensions over informal gold mining near the disputed Sudan-Egypt border. In June, similar attacks on artisanal mining sites in the region killed at least 23 workers, according to reports cited by Al Jazeera. Egyptian authorities subsequently announced a large-scale security operation against illegal gold mining, smuggling and unauthorised border crossings.

Egypt’s military said in June that its operation had resulted in the detention of 223 people, including 136 foreign nationals, according to reporting by the Associated Press. Egyptian authorities said the campaign targeted illegal mining and smuggling activities in areas they regarded as being inside Egyptian territory.

The border dispute is complicated by competing territorial claims, particularly over the resource-rich Halayeb Triangle. Sudanese miners have accused Egyptian forces of targeting mining camps, while Egyptian authorities have cited security concerns and illegal cross-border activity. The location of the latest attack and responsibility for it remain disputed.

Gold has become increasingly important to Sudan’s wartime economy. The conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in April 2023, has devastated livelihoods and pushed more people towards informal mining in remote areas.

Artisanal mining, which often involves basic equipment, hazardous excavation pits and limited safety measures, provides income for large numbers of people but also feeds into informal trading and smuggling networks. A 2024 United Nations report estimated that more than half of Sudan’s gold production was smuggled out of the country, underscoring the challenges facing efforts to regulate the sector and track its revenues.

The latest reported deaths add to the mounting civilian toll of Sudan’s wider conflict and highlight the dangers facing workers in areas where weak oversight, cross-border disputes and the struggle for control of valuable natural resources intersect. (ILKHA)