Sudanese gold miners describe deadly airstrike that killed 72

Sudanese miners injured in a deadly airstrike along the border with Egypt have been describing how the incident unfolded. 72 people are believed to have been killed in last week's attack on a remote gold mining area. The region stretches across the border and includes territory claimed by both Sudan and Egypt. Rights groups blame the strike on the Egyptian air force. We were working and then around 8 o'clock in the morning we prepared some tea while an aircraft appeared overhead and began filming us, circling above about three times. On the fourth pass it struck us. The first strike caused an explosion right in the middle of the miners. There were nearly three hundred people or more there at the time. By the grace of God I only sustained an injury to one of my fingers. But I lost my brother, my cousin, and my maternal cousin. They all got killed. Most of our work here is in agriculture, but the current farming season has largely failed. As a result, everyone has turned to mining to try and earn a living. A sack of flour costs 700,000 Sudanese pounds. On Monday, the Egyptian military said it was carrying out an operation against illegal mining along its border. It said warning flyers were dropped before the strike.