The Miners of Halayeb: A Strike, a Toll, a Silence

In the remote and rugged terrain where Sudan meets Egypt, where the earth holds both mineral wealth and the scars of long dispute, a strike came from the sky on a Saturday morning. When it was over, at least seventy-two people lay dead—artisanal gold miners who had come to this contested borderland in search of a livelihood, caught in a conflict not of their making.

The Sudan-based rights group Emergency Lawyers reported the attack on Sunday, accusing the Egyptian air force of carrying out the strikes. The group said the attack occurred in the Halayeb triangle, a resource-rich area claimed by both Egypt and Sudan. It described “repeated attacks on the gold- and mineral-rich border regions” as reflecting a desire by Egyptian authorities to “expand and assert control over Sudan’s natural resources” .

Egypt has not commented on the strikes. Independent verification remains difficult because of the remote location . The Egyptian army did not claim responsibility but previously acknowledged conducting a “large-scale operation” against illegal gold mining within its borders, detaining 223 people in June, including 136 foreign nationals .

Survivors described scenes of chaos. Abdelaziz Youssef, a miner, told AFP that a jet appeared overhead around 8:00 a.m. and “struck five times. Many people were killed.” He fled up the mountain, terrified of another strike . Another survivor, Sharaf Ali, said thousands were working at the remote site when it was hit. “After the airstrike, people scattered. Some came to Al-Ansary market, others went in the other direction. That’s why no one knows exactly how many were killed” .

The Sudan Doctors Network warned that the death toll could rise due to the severity of injuries and the difficulty of accessing medical care in the region . The attack was the second this year on Jabal Al-Uqaydat, following airstrikes in June that reportedly killed 23 workers .

The broader context is one of conflict and displacement. Sudan’s civil war, now in its third year, has killed more than 200,000 people and created a severe humanitarian crisis . The war has pushed many into the dangerous gold mining industry, which fuels both sides’ war efforts. The Rapid Support Forces has funded its operations by smuggling gold from Sudan’s Darfur and Kordofan regions; according to the UK-based think tank Chatham House, as much as 60 percent of unofficial gold exports end up in Egypt .

The Halayeb triangle, a disputed border area claimed by both countries, has long been a conduit for gold, illicit trade, and human trafficking. Egypt, a key ally of Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, considers the war at its border a major threat to its security .

For the miners who survived, the question is not one of geopolitics but of survival. They came to this harsh, mountainous place seeking a living. On Saturday morning, that pursuit ended for at least seventy-two of them, in a place where the line between Sudan and Egypt is drawn on maps but not always in the ground.

AI Image Disclaimer: The visuals accompanying this article were generated by AI for contextual purposes only and do not depict the actual events described.

Sources: DW, Khaleej Times, Arab News PK, NRK, SVT Nyheter