At least 72 civilians who had been prospecting for gold in a border region of Sudan have been killed in air strikes, a regional rights group said.

Emergency Lawyers, based in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, said jets targeted the so-called artisanal miners at a popular gold mining site on Saturday.

Neither the Egyptian government nor the de facto Sudanese authorities have so far commented.

Cairo has previously faced accusations of deadly strikes on gold prospectors as part of a crackdown on illicit activity along its southern border.

Emergency Lawyers noted the previous alleged attacks and said they represented not only a violation of Sudan’s sovereign territory but demonstrated the government’s lack of control over the region.

“The deliberate targeting of unarmed civilians violates international humanitarian law and the right to life,” it said in a statement on Sunday. “These acts may constitute war crimes.”

It noted that its death toll was provisional and could rise.

The Paris-based Sudan Tribune reported that the death toll could far exceed the number reported by Emergency Lawyers, citing a survivor of Saturday’s attack who said many more people had been injured.

Eyewitnesses said the attack began around 06:00 local time (04:00 GMT), with the aircraft firing more than five missiles directly at the miners’ camps, destroying them and excavation pits with people still inside, the newspaper wrote.

The Sudan Tribune reported claims in June that Egyptian forces had used drones and artillery to target artisanal mining sites in the same region, killing several, after sporadic incidents of Egyptian border guards of burning equipment, torching temporary shelters, and firing live ammunition to disperse mine workers.

Days later, Egypt’s border agency announced that it and the military had begun a sweeping security campaign along the border to foil illegal migration, drug smuggling and illegal mining.

At the same time, Sudan’s de facto leader announced an investigation into the alleged strikes, which were said to have killed dozens.

Gold lies at the core of the border tensions.

Sudan’s ongoing civil war has led to a surge in artisanal mining – and often risky practice conducted by civilians with rudimentary tools and without official permission – particularly in remote areas near its borders.

Gold-rich areas lie along porous borders in terrain historically associated with cross-border smuggling routes, with artisanally mined gold potentially feeding into those channels.

Egypt’s border force said in June that it had seized 86 tonnes of gold ore along with amateur prospecting equipment.

Artisanal mining has also reportedly continued in Sudan’s conflict zones and smuggled gold may be a source of income for armed insurgent groups.

This has raised concerns of illicit Sudanese gold undermining the legitimate Egyptian gold market.

Several German fighter jets will take part in the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) annual nuclear defence exercise this week as troops from 17 countries take part in the Steadfast Noon drill.

The German Air Force said three Tornado jets will take part in the exercise hosted by Italy, which starts Tuesday and runs for about a week and a half.

The jets are normally stationed in Büchel in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

NATO has not revealed the exercise scenario but said its scale would be comparable to last year’s drill, which involved around 2,000 personnel and more than 70 aircraft.

Last week, NATO’s head of nuclear policy, Nassima Barrows, said the exercise was designed to demonstrate the alliance’s readiness and ability to defend its territory.

No real nuclear weapons will be used, she added.

NATO said the exercise was not linked to current events or directed at any specific country.

Military experts say the drills, held regularly in October, include practising the safe transport of weapons from underground storage facilities to aircraft and mounting them on fighter jets.

Only practice bombs without real nuclear warheads are used during the drills.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on governments, the private sector, civil society, and community leaders to scale up investment in proven solutions, and ensure they reach every girl, everywhere.

Guterres made the call in his message to mark the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child under the theme “End child marriage and invest in girls’ rights!”

International Day of the Girl, celebrated annually on October 11, is a global moment to celebrate girls everywhere, amplifying their voices, actions and leadership.

The UN chief, however, used the 2026 celebration to call for end to child marriage.

“Together, let us defend the right of all girls to a childhood, and ensure every daughter, every sister, grows up free to shape her own future,’’ he said.

According to him, every three seconds, child marriage cuts a girl’s childhood short and one in five girls worldwide is married before the age of 18.

“Child marriage compromises the education, health, and safety of millions of girls across the globe. Fundamentally, it is rooted in poverty.

“The risk goes up in times of conflict, climate shocks, and displacement, leaving families with fewer options for their daughters.”

Guterres said educating girls and providing economic opportunities for their families would halt the harmful practice.

“But we know how to halt this harmful practice. Keeping girls in school, improving economic opportunities for families, enhancing social and legal protections, and challenging discriminatory gender norms all help girls reclaim their agency.

“Over the past 25 years, such solutions have prevented an estimated 68 million child marriages.

“Yet recent funding cuts threaten progress. At the rate we’re going, it will take centuries to eliminate child marriage,’’ he said.