Sudanese gold miners are preparing to return to dangerous mining sites near the Egyptian border despite a deadly airstrike that killed at least 72 people, left survivors traumatised and hundreds more feared missing.
The October 11 attack struck miners working in the rugged mountains along the Sudan-Egypt border, according to a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP). Sudanese rights group Emergency Lawyers blamed the Egyptian military for the deaths, while Egypt said it had conducted an operation against illegal miners “within its territory”.
The death toll remains uncertain, with hundreds of miners, including children, still unaccounted for in the remote mountainous area.
For survivors, the prospect of returning to the mines reflects the desperate economic conditions created by Sudan’s war, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
“I need to go get my gold,” 26-year-old Sharaf al-Din Ali told AFP after burying a friend alongside at least two dozen other victims in a shallow grave.
Waiting for a truck to take him back to the Jabal al-Uqaydat mining area, Ali said he hoped to retrieve his gold before leaving the site.
“Then I’m not coming back… But I can’t leave gold mining either,” he said.
Ali had dropped out of college after the conflict began and joined the growing number of Sudanese turning to informal gold mining to survive.
Survivors Describe Horrific Scenes
Ali Mohamed Hamdan, 29, was drinking tea with fellow miners on October 10 when an aircraft began circling overhead, according to his account to AFP.
“It made three rounds, on the fourth it fired a missile,” he said from a cot in eastern Sudan, where he was receiving treatment after returning home with minor injuries.
Another survivor, Omar Mohieddin, said the miners initially believed they were safe when the aircraft disappeared from view.
“They came every day or two, so people were used to them,” he told AFP. “When it flew north, everyone thought it had gone.”
He said the aircraft returned minutes later and that he could see what appeared to be the Egyptian flag on it.
Hamdan and three others reportedly threw themselves into a hole when the first explosion occurred. After emerging, he found one of his companions severely mutilated.
The attack has left the village of Wad al-Hulaywah in mourning, with families grieving relatives who travelled to the mining area in search of income.
Residents told AFP that 11 people from the small farming community alone had been killed.
Wounded Miners Walked for Hours for Treatment
Survivors said they spent hours carrying injured colleagues towards medical facilities, while some victims died along the roadside without food or water.
A doctor at a small clinic near the border described the casualties arriving for treatment.
“The scenes were impossible to describe,” he told AFP.
“People arrived in pieces, shrapnel wounds to eyes, heads, legs and chests. Some of the most seriously wounded never reached us because there was no way to transport them.”
The remote location, scarcity of vehicles and increased transport costs have compounded the difficulties facing survivors and families trying to recover bodies or retrieve gold from the mining sites.
Tarek Ahmed Issa, 19, said he remained in the area after the attack, hoping to transport four months’ worth of gold-mining proceeds to a nearby market.
“There are hardly any trucks,” he said, adding that available vehicles were charging double.
Gold Mining Becomes a Lifeline in Wartime Sudan
The attack highlights the risks facing thousands of Sudanese who have turned to informal gold mining as the war devastates livelihoods and disrupts agriculture, trade and public services.
Sudan’s multibillion-dollar gold industry relies heavily on small-scale miners working in hazardous conditions, often with little protective equipment.
The trade also helps finance the wider conflict, with gold moving through regional commercial networks. According to the AFP report, much of Sudan’s gold is routed through the United Arab Emirates, with significant quantities passing through Egypt.
Miners face dangers beyond airstrikes and mine collapses. Mercury and cyanide used in gold processing can expose workers to serious long-term health risks.
Omar Abdelrazig Abdalla, who lost both his son and nephew in the attack, described how transporters, refinery operators and other intermediaries take a share of miners’ earnings.
“By the time the ore is sold, everyone takes a cut,” he said.
“You pay the truck owner, the refinery owner and others before you finally get your share.”
For many young Sudanese, however, the alternatives are limited. The war has displaced millions and deprived families of farms, livestock and other sources of income.
Issa said he had little choice but to continue mining.
“The war left us no farming and no livestock. I have to keep working so my family can survive.”
Egypt’s Campaign Against Illegal Mining
The latest attack occurred in a mineral-rich border region that includes the Halayeb Triangle, a disputed territory claimed by both Sudan and Egypt but controlled by Egypt.
Egypt launched a military campaign this year to secure its southeastern desert against illegal gold mining and human trafficking. An earlier Egyptian airstrike in June reportedly killed 23 miners.
The October attack has renewed attention on the human cost of efforts to control illicit mining and the economic pressures pushing Sudanese workers into dangerous border areas.
For the survivors, the immediate priority remains recovering their gold, finding missing relatives and supporting families left without their main breadwinners.
Despite the casualties, the lack of alternative livelihoods continues to draw miners back to the same mountains where many of their colleagues were killed.
