The city of El-Fasher in western Sudan witnessed a horrific massacre on Friday, when at least 75 people were killed and dozens injured after a drone strike hit a mosque during dawn prayers. Medical and political groups confirmed that the attack was carried out by a drone believed to belong to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The massacre
According to the El-Fasher Resistance Committees, the mosque was crowded with worshippers at the time of the strike, resulting in a high death toll that included children and elderly people. The group described the attack as a “horrific crime” and said the city was facing a severe shortage of burial shrouds and medical supplies, which hindered efforts to treat the wounded and bury the dead.
The Sudanese Doctors’ Union mourned Dr. Omar Ishaq, a young physician and graduate of El-Fasher University, who was among the victims of the attack. Aid groups described the strike as a “suicidal drone” assault on a mosque sheltering displaced families, noting that bodies had to be pulled from the rubble.
El-Fasher under siege
El-Fasher, capital of North Darfur State, is the last major city in the region still under army control. For more than 500 days, the RSF has besieged its 260,000 residents, half of whom are children, while humanitarian assistance has been almost entirely cut off. The UN notes that shelling and drone raids have compounded a worsening humanitarian situation marked by food and medicine shortages.
Domestic reactions
Sudan’s Sovereign Council condemned the strike, describing it as “a crime that shames humanity,” and declared that RSF forces habitually target civilians in violation of international conventions.
Prime Minister Kamil Idris went further, calling the massacre both a war crime and “an act of barbarism” aimed at demographic change through displacement, starvation, and systematic ethnic violence. He stressed that government authorities will continue documenting violations and coordinating with international bodies to ensure justice for the perpetrators, while working to support civilians trapped under siege conditions.
International condemnation
UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Denis Brown, expressed deep concern over the mosque bombing, saying international humanitarian law prohibits deliberate attacks against places of worship. He affirmed that such acts amount to war crimes, and called for an urgent investigation to hold those responsible to account. Brown also emphasized that the continuing siege of El-Fasher has already created a dire humanitarian crisis, with food, medicine, and life-saving supplies cut off.
The NGO Avaaz warned that if RSF fighters take El-Fasher, mass killings are likely, especially targeting non-Arab groups such as the Zaghawa, who form a backbone of the army’s allied forces.
Political statements
Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohyeddin Salem accused certain regional and international actors of conspiring with and enabling RSF atrocities, but insisted the militia was now in a state of “weakness and decline thanks to the steadfastness of the army and the people.”
Silence from the RSF
As of Friday evening, the RSF had not issued a comment on the attack. The group usually denies deliberately targeting civilians in the civil war that has raged for more than two years.
The El-Fasher mosque massacre stands as one of the deadliest assaults on civilians in Darfur since the outbreak of fighting, marking a serious escalation that deepens fears of broader atrocities under continuing siege conditions.
