Drone strike on Sudan mosque kills at least 70, army blames paramilitary group
Most international humanitarian groups have withdrawn from the region due to the escalating violence
A drone strike attributed to Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) hit a mosque in El Fasher, North Darfur, during Friday prayers today (20 September), killing at least 70 people, according to aid workers and the Sudanese military.
The mosque was completely destroyed, and rescuers fear the death toll could rise as more victims may be trapped under the rubble, said a local aid worker with the Emergency Response Rooms, speaking anonymously due to fear of reprisal from the RSF.
In a statement, the Sudanese army condemned the attack, calling it another example of the RSF's ongoing targeting of civilians. "This rebel militia continues to strike civilians in full view of the world," the army stated.
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Due to the security situation, especially in areas affected by the RSF-army conflict that began in April 2023, further information has been hard to confirm. Most international humanitarian groups have withdrawn from the region due to the escalating violence.
According to the World Health Organization, the civil war has resulted in over 40,000 deaths, displaced up to 12 million people, and left many on the brink of famine.
Video and reports confirm mosque devastation
Activists from the Resistance Committees in El Fasher posted a video showing rubble and bodies where the mosque once stood. The Darfur Victims Support Organization reported the attack occurred at about 5am local time on Daraga al-Oula street.
The incident is the latest in a string of violent RSF attacks in El Fasher over the past week.
El Fasher under heavy assault
The Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale University released satellite images confirming drone activity and explosive impacts in the El Fasher region earlier in the week.
Structures at the Abu Shouk refugee camp, home to around 4,50,000 displaced people, showed visible damage. The RSF now reportedly controls the camp and the former army operations base nearby.
Local activists said the RSF has targeted unarmed civilians, including women and elderly people, at shelters throughout the city. On 16 September, the Sudan Doctors Network reported that 18 people were killed and 14 abducted, including three girls.
UN: Thousands dead, more at risk
The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said in a 19 September report that 3,384 civilians, mostly in Darfur, were confirmed killed from January to June 2024 — about 80% of this year's total civilian casualties. The actual number is likely far higher.
Since early April, fighting for control of El Fasher and surrounding areas has intensified. Over 400 people have died in RSF attacks since 10 April, many during a large assault that overtook the Zamzam displacement camp, which the RSF converted into a military base.
According to the OHCHR, RSF offensives have included widespread violence, including rape, extrajudicial killings, and attacks on civilians in shelters or attempting to escape.
El Fasher's health system in collapse
Healthcare services are nearly non-existent in El Fasher. Dr Ezzeldin Asow of El Fasher South Hospital, the only surgical facility still functioning in the city, described a desperate situation in a message shared by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Patients are being transported on foot or by donkey cart, and medical staff are working under extreme conditions, often risking their lives.
Li Fung, the UN Human Rights Office representative for Sudan, warned at a Geneva briefing that the humanitarian situation in El Fasher is rapidly deteriorating due to a crippling siege.
"There's no safe way out," Fung said. "Civilians are forced to choose between staying and facing bombardment, starvation, and atrocities — or fleeing and risking execution, sexual violence, or abduction."
