Eight Egyptian human rights organisations have called for an urgent, independent investigation into airstrikes believed to have been carried out by Egyptian forces against dozens of Sudanese gold miners near the Sudanese-Egyptian border on 10 October, in what they described as apparent mass extrajudicial killings. In a statement published by the Egyptian Human Rights Forum, the signatories endorsed Sudanese rights groups’ demands for an investigation to establish responsibility and hold perpetrators of violations accountable.
According to the statement, several airstrikes targeted artisanal gold miners’ camps at Jabal al-Aqaydat in the North Wadi area near the border on 10 October 2026, killing dozens of miners. Survivors posted videos and photographs documenting the aftermath on social media. On 12 October, Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council announced its intention to form a fact-finding committee to investigate the killings, but avoided accusing Egypt.
Egyptian authorities have neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the strikes. However, a military spokesperson acknowledged on the same day that Egyptian forces had conducted operations against illegal gold mining in the Eastern Desert after distributing warning leaflets in advance. The New York Times reported that what appeared to be “Egyptian munitions” were visible in footage filmed after the strikes, including an unexploded “Egyptian Nasr 400 bomb”, according to an explosive ordnance expert.
The independent Sudanese network Ayin also published an investigation drawing on open-source experts and satellite imagery. It identified two sites associated with the strikes: one in the Halaib Triangle, a border area long disputed between Egypt and Sudan, and another clearly inside Egyptian territory. An investigation by Sudanese Echo identified the same two locations as Ayin. The network and experts pointed to evidence linking the operation to US-made F-16 fighter jets and Egyptian-made bombs.
The organisations said these findings, taken together, provided credible grounds to believe that Egyptian forces carried out the strikes and underscored the need for an independent investigation. They noted that similar operations took place in June 2026, when independent media and analysts reported the deaths of Sudanese civilian miners. Egypt’s Ministry of Defence and military commentators claimed, without providing evidence, that they were targeting “criminal elements” involved in illegal mining and the smuggling of weapons, drugs and people, the same claims made after the October operations.
The organisations stressed that Egypt is obliged to respect the miners’ right to life, whether the strikes occurred on its territory or in Sudan. In law enforcement, intentional lethal force may be used only when strictly necessary to protect lives, not merely to stop illegal mining, and distributing warning leaflets does not justify disregarding that requirement. They also said that the presence of armed “elements” in artisanal mining areas, as alleged by the Ministry of Defence, does not make the sites or civilian miners legitimate targets for airstrikes, drone attacks or bombardment.
The organisations called on Egyptian authorities to halt these attacks, ensure independent and impartial investigations, and hold those responsible for violations accountable. They also urged that any measures to enforce mining laws or control borders respect human rights and the rule of law.
The statement was signed by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the Egyptian Front for Human Rights, the Law and Democracy Support Foundation, EgyptWide for Human Rights, the El Nadeem Center, the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, and the Egyptian Human Rights Forum.
