Collected photo

KHARTOUM, Sept 6, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Six people have been killed and up to 20 
others are feared trapped after a gold mine collapsed in northern Sudan, 
authorities said on Saturday.

The accident occurred on Friday in the Um Aud area, west of the city of 
Berber in River Nile state, said Hassan Ibrahim Karar, executive director of 
the Berber locality.

"Efforts are ongoing to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble," Karar said, 
without specifying the cause of the collapse of the artisanal mine.

Since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the army and the paramilitary 
Rapid Support Forces, both sides have largely financed their war efforts 
through the country's gold industry.

Official and NGO sources say nearly all of Sudan's gold trade is funnelled 
through the United Arab Emirates, which has been widely accused of supplying 
arms to the RSF -- a charge it denies.

Despite the conflict, the army-backed government announced record gold 
production of 64 tonnes for 2024.

Sudan, Africa's third-largest country by area, remains one of the continent's 
top gold producers.

However, most gold is extracted through artisanal and small-scale mining 
operations, which lack proper safety measures and often use hazardous 
chemicals, resulting in severe health risks for miners and nearby 
communities.

Before the war pushed 25 million Sudanese into acute food insecurity, 
artisanal mining employed more than two million people, according to industry 
figures.

Today, mining experts say much of the gold produced by both warring factions 
is smuggled through Chad, South Sudan and Egypt before reaching the UAE -- 
currently the world's second-largest gold exporter.

The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced roughly 10 
million people, creating the world's largest displacement crisis. An 
additional four million Sudanese have fled across borders.