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UN peacekeeping chief warns of new drone threat after deadly strikes in Abyei

6 November 2026 · Algeria Now

UN peacekeeping chief warns of new drone threat after deadly strikes in Abyei — Photo : Algeria Now

Drone strikes that killed at least 30 people in the disputed region of Abyei on 19 October have added a "new and concerning dimension" to security there, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the Security Council on Thursday.

Lacroix said the strikes, the first of their kind in the area, started major fires, injured about 59 people and forced dozens of civilians from their homes. The toll may be higher. Guang Cong, the Secretary-General's special envoy for the Horn of Africa, called the attack one of the deadliest incidents in Abyei's history, urged a prompt and independent investigation, and asked Sudan and South Sudan to respect the area's demilitarised status.

Abyei is an oil-bearing border area claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan, patrolled by the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) since 2011. Lacroix noted that security incidents have fallen by about 32 percent compared with last year. Yet clashes around the Amiet market on 15 September left 124 people dead. He warned that the market's role as a trade hub invites criminal networks and armed groups, and that the Rapid Support Forces' reported appointment of their own representative to the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee could create competing claims of authority.

The Council is considering the mission's future mandate. Lacroix said conditions for a major change to its structure do not yet exist; he asked for stronger protection against aerial threats. Sudan and South Sudan resumed formal talks in August, the first since January 2023, with a second meeting due in Khartoum from 8 to 10 November.

Algeria has long defended the African principle that inherited borders must be respected and that disputes between neighbours must be settled peacefully. It brokered the 2000 Algiers Agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

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