Drone strikes hit a market in the disputed Abyei region, killing more than 150 people, according to South Sudanese officials, in the latest in a series of attacks during one of the deadliest weeks of Sudan’s war.

The attack brought the death toll from strikes in recent days to more than 250, highlighting the growing toll of drone and air attacks in the conflict, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The war has triggered a major humanitarian crisis and drawn in local militias and foreign powers.

Yohana Akol Ngor, caretaker minister of information in Abyei, told Reuters on Tuesday that the death toll from Monday’s attack on the market had risen to 153 from 73 and was likely to climb further.

“The fire is still burning. So the recovery process of the dead ones is still continuing. The situation is terrible,” Ngor said, adding that some bodies had been burned to ashes.

Video footage filmed at the scene on Tuesday and verified by Reuters showed charred and twisted vehicles and buildings. Flames continued to billow from one building as residents inspected the damage.

Ngor blamed Sudan’s army for the attack but provided no evidence. A spokesperson for the Sudanese armed forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Three diplomatic sources, an aid worker and a conflict expert told Reuters that the strike hit a fuel depot in the market. The diplomatic sources said the depot had previously been used by the RSF to supply its forces. An RSF spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

South Sudan declared independence from Sudan in 2011. Since then, both countries have laid claim to oil-rich Abyei, which is jointly administered. The region borders Sudan’s Kordofan region, now a major battleground in the war.

Officials in Sudan’s military-led government told Reuters that the RSF was active in parts of Abyei. Ngor denied the presence of RSF fighters in the region. Reuters could not immediately verify either claim.

The United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) warned in May that the RSF’s presence in the region had increased insecurity. It said delays in determining Abyei’s final status had put civilians and UN personnel at risk.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the United Nations strongly condemned the series of drone attacks in Abyei and other areas.

“We remain alarmed by the relentless drone attacks across Sudan, as well as the damage they are causing to critical infrastructure — these attacks are taking a devastating toll on communities already struggling with the consequences of more than three years of conflict,” Dujarric told reporters in New York.

Ngor said emergency workers were struggling to retrieve bodies because fires caused by the strikes continued to burn. About 8,000 people had been displaced by Monday’s bombing, he added.

South Sudan’s foreign ministry said late on Monday that drones had struck a market north of Abyei town but did not provide a casualty figure. The ministry said it had summoned Sudan’s ambassador to protest the attack.

An eyewitness said they heard five large explosions that set the fuel market ablaze.

“People started evacuating the casualties. They had injuries from shrapnel on their stomach and legs ... In one site, I saw 28 bodies that were burnt,” the witness said, requesting anonymity for safety reasons.

The witness said they saw no RSF fighters or other uniformed personnel in the market, where goods such as sugar, flour and biscuits are sold for shipment into Sudan.

The Sudanese armed forces and the RSF have recently intensified drone attacks, with a series of strikes targeting RSF-held Nyala and the army-controlled Khartoum airport this week.

On Sunday, drone strikes in West Kordofan state, which is controlled by the RSF, killed about 84 people and injured 65 others, according to the local Emergency Response Room. On Monday, four children were killed in repeated drone attacks targeting Khartoum airport, which is controlled by the Sudanese army.

A strike on a market in Nyala, an RSF stronghold, killed 23 people and injured 44 on Friday, according to local volunteers.

Chadian authorities have accused Sudan’s military of carrying out drone strikes on Chadian territory, which UN experts say is regularly used for RSF supply routes. Sudan’s foreign ministry said in late August that its armed forces were acting to protect the country’s security.

On October 10, an airstrike near Sudan’s border with Egypt killed more than 70 artisanal miners, according to a local rights group.

Abyei has frequently experienced violence, with clashes usually involving rival ethnic groups or armed militias. The latest attack is the deadliest to hit the region in years, where medical supplies and healthcare services are scarce.

South Sudan’s government says it has not taken sides in the war in neighbouring Sudan. However, diplomats and experts say Abyei has become a key transit point for RSF logistics, particularly fuel.

Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said it was treating more than 20 wounded people, some suffering from burns, at the nearby Ameth Bek Hospital.

“We are providing surgical services and wound dressing, along with other emergency care,” said Christian Lindauer, MSF’s medical activities manager at the facility.

Photographs shared on MSF’s official social media account showed bandaged patients lying on the floor as they received treatment.