A 16-Year-Old's Hunt for Gold Ended in an Air Strike: At Least 72 Miners Killed in Sudan
At least 72 miners were killed in an air strike on October 10 at a gold-mining site near Jabal Al-Aigdat in Sudan's Red Sea region. Among the dead was 16-year-old Altayeb Alhadi. The strike has been attributed to the Egyptian military.
When Altayeb was just six, his father died after a well collapsed in his village in White Nile state, south-central Sudan. Two months later his mother also died, leaving five children orphaned. As the eldest, Altayeb took on the responsibility of supporting the family.
At 14, he travelled hundreds of kilometres from his home in Galli village to the north, where gold mines dot the landscape, so he could feed his siblings and keep them in school. His uncle Alhadi Hamid said the family warned him about the dangers; relatives already working in the area had found jobs in restaurants and other services rather than underground extraction.
Altayeb initially worked in transport and other jobs. But after hearing lucrative stories from miners in the area, he began searching for gold in the surrounding mountains. The strike came a few months after he began working at the site.
He worked alongside about 15 young men and children, using basic tools to extract gold from the rocks. The miners worked night and day, taking what they gathered to nearby mills for processing.
A fellow miner, speaking on condition of anonymity, said less than 30 minutes had passed since they separated on the day of the attack. They suddenly heard bombardment and ran, with many attacks taking place within a few minutes. Altayeb was found with his hand and leg blown off and a severe abdominal injury; they moved him to a safer place near a mountain, but he died within hours.
Earnings were irregular. The miner said they would dig for two to three weeks until they found a gram or less of gold; selling it brought about $100, which was shared. On productive days the group could earn more than $100.
Ten days before his death, Altayeb told his siblings he would soon return home, his sister Rogaia Alhadi told local media. His uncle said that on the morning of the attack Altayeb shared a cup of tea with friends at a restaurant near the mining site before heading towards the mine for the final time; minutes later, the air strike hit.
Egyptian authorities have accused Sudanese miners of crossing the border and reportedly linked some to gold smuggling, drugs and human trafficking. The Sudanese side did not respond to these allegations.
Since a civil war between Sudan's military and the Rapid Support Forces broke out in 2023, the economy has tanked, forcing thousands with no other source of income to find work in the artisanal gold mines of northern Sudan.
The dangers are not only air strikes: collapsing shafts, unstable ground and limited medical care also make mining hazardous. Mohamed Awadalkarim, who mined in River Nile state for 10 years, said workers often shelter in makeshift huts made from burlap sacks and plastic sheeting, and their diet consists mainly of lentils and sorghum porridge.
According to research by the Chatham House think tank, artisanal and small-scale mining accounted for 53.71 tonnes, or about 83 percent, of Sudan's declared gold production in 2024 — though that figure covers only areas under government control. About one million people are involved in artisanal mining across Sudan's 18 states, generating about $1bn annually.
On June 16, several people were reportedly killed and injured in attacks on mining sites near the Egyptian border. Sudanese military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan reportedly ordered a fact-finding committee involving prosecutors, judicial representatives and security agencies to investigate the October attack; findings from an inquiry into a similar incident announced in June have not been made public.
Altayeb's siblings are now living with their extended family, including uncles, aunts and cousins. People in Galli are carrying out community initiatives to keep his memory alive, relatives said.
