The attack in Abyei, which borders West Kordofan, took place on Monday around 11:30 local time (09:30 GMT) targeting Amiet Market around 10km (six miles) from Abyei town, the region’s Information Minister Yohana Akol Ngor told Radio Tamazuj, which broadcasts from the Netherlands to audiences on the Sudan-South Sudan border.
On Tuesday, the minister confirmed to the Associated Press and Reuters that the death toll had risen from 73 to 153 people.
“It is a horrible and shocking situation,” AP quotes him as saying.
BBC Verify has studied satellite images that show extensive burnt buildings in the north-east corner of Amiet Market, which is also known in Arabic as Al-Na’am Market. Older images from the area show it is usually full of trucks.
It has also verified footage filmed near the market that shows a large plume of smoke, at least one petrol tanker and someone talking about five missiles being fired. Another verified video shows two massive, separate fires coming from buildings near that section of the market.
“The market was completely destroyed. The bombing spread terror and fear among the local population,” market trader Fadlallah Adam Hamouda told BBC Arabic’s Middle East Daily.
Another trader told the BBC the attack had come as shock as UN peacekeepers have been in Abyei since 2011 – with more than 2,800 uniformed personnel currently deployed.
“Our area is a weapons-free zone under United Nations protection, yet it was targeted by drones,” he said.
“The attack caused extensive material damage after the fuel market was struck, sparking a massive fire that spread to nearby homes.”
