Airstrikes in Sudan Kill at Least 72 Gold Prospectors — OilPrice

At least 72 prospectors mining gold were killed on October 10 in airstrikes in the Shamal al-Wadi area in the far north of Sudan’s Red Sea state. Survivors estimate that more than 200 people were killed, OilPrice reports.

Accusations against the Egyptian Air Force

Prospectors and Sudanese human rights groups accuse the Egyptian Air Force of carrying out the strikes. At the same time, no government has claimed responsibility for the attack. Egypt considers the disputed territory to be its own and says its operations against illegal mining took place within Egypt’s borders.

This is already the second deadly strike in the same area since June. At that time, more than 50 people were reported killed, while Egypt’s border forces seized 86 tonnes of gold-bearing ore.

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Trade in Sudanese Gold

According to the publication, about 70 tonnes of gold were mined in Sudan in 2025, but less than 15 tonnes were officially exported. Most of the production, OilPrice estimates, was smuggled out or processed informally.

Egypt became the second-largest buyer of official gold exports from Sudan that year: the country purchased 4.9 tonnes of the metal worth $517 million. This volume was almost 20 times higher than in 2024.