The death toll from a drone strike on a crowded market in Abyei, the border region disputed by Sudan and South Sudan, has risen to 153, a local official said on Tuesday, more than double the figure first reported after Monday's attack.

Yohana Akol Ngor, the Abyei administration's caretaker information minister, told Reuters that the toll from the attack on Amiet Market, north of Abyei town, had risen to 153 from 73 and was likely to increase further. "The fire is still burning. The recovery of the dead is still continuing. The situation is terrible," Ngor said. He told the Associated Press: "We have recorded 153 deaths." A video filmed at the scene on Monday and verified by Reuters showed the charred remains of vehicles and buildings, with flames still billowing from one building.

Diplomatic sources told Reuters the strike hit a fuel depot in the market, which they said had previously been used by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to supply its forces. A witness told Reuters he heard five large explosions before the depot caught fire, and said he saw 28 burnt bodies at one site.

Responsibility is disputed, and neither wire could independently verify the claims. Ngor blamed Sudan's military, without providing evidence, Reuters reported, and South Sudan's foreign ministry said it had summoned Sudan's ambassador to protest. A spokesperson for Sudan's armed forces did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters or AP. A senior Sudanese military officer, speaking to AP on condition of anonymity, said the army had struck fuel tankers arriving from South Sudan that he said were bound for the RSF, and said those killed were RSF members and people involved in fuel smuggling. "We do not target civilians," he said. AP said it could not independently verify his account.

In a statement on Tuesday, the UN Secretary-General condemned drone attacks near Amiet Market and Todach, saying dozens of civilians, including women and children, had been killed and many others injured, with many people still missing and the toll expected to rise. The UN peacekeeping force for Abyei, UNISFA, deployed medical personnel, firefighting teams and quick-reaction forces to treat and evacuate casualties and stop the fire spreading, the UN said. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said more than 20 wounded people, including several critical cases and patients with burns, were brought to Ameth Bek Hospital. "So far we received over 20 patients, including several critical cases. Patients with burns were also admitted," said Dr Christian Lindauer, MSF's medical activities manager at the hospital.

Abyei is oil-rich and has been claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan since the South declared independence in 2011; it is jointly administered and borders Sudan's Kordofan region, now a major centre of fighting. Sudan's war erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF. Reuters said the market strike pushed the toll from attacks in recent days to more than 250. Sources: Reuters and the Associated Press.