According to media reports, drone strikes hit a busy market in Abyei, the region disputed by Sudan and South Sudan, around midday on Monday. Abyei's caretaker information minister, Yohana Akol Ngor, said on Tuesday the death toll had risen from 73 to 153.
South Sudanese officials blamed Sudan's armed forces for the attack but offered no evidence. A spokesperson for Sudan's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the report said.
Three diplomatic sources, an aid worker and a conflict expert told the media the strike hit a fuel depot in the market. The diplomatic sources said the depot had previously been used by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to supply its fighters.
The war between Sudan's army and the RSF, raging since April 2023, has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and drawn in local militias and foreign powers. The Abyei strike underlines how deadly air attacks have become in the conflict.