Drone Strike on Sudan Mosque Kills 75+, International Condemnation Mounts as El Fasher Siege Deepens
Executive Summary
A drone strike attributed to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed more than 75 worshippers during dawn prayers at a mosque in El Fasher, North Darfur, marking one of the deadliest single attacks since the outbreak of civil war in 2023. The attack drew condemnation from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Nations (UN), and Darfur’s major armed groups, with calls to classify the RSF as a terrorist organization. Sudan’s Prime Minister Kamil Idris pledged to raise the siege of El Fasher at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), while humanitarian groups warn that the city faces imminent collapse under RSF encirclement.
Key Judgments
1. The mosque strike reflects an escalation in the RSF’s campaign to capture El Fasher, the army’s last major stronghold in Darfur.
Evidence: The RSF has besieged El Fasher since April 2024, recently advancing into surrounding camps and compounds; Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab warned the city may soon fall without immediate reinforcements.
2. Targeting a mosque during prayers underscores the RSF’s growing reliance on tactics amounting to war crimes and ethnic cleansing.
Evidence: More than 75 civilians, including tribal leaders, were killed in the strike; UN and non-governmental organization reports accuse the RSF of systematic ethnic targeting, forced displacement, and sexual violence across Darfur.
3. The attack triggered unified international and regional condemnation, but practical deterrence against the RSF remains limited.
Evidence: The United States, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar denounced the incident as a violation of humanitarian law; the UN demanded accountability; Darfur’s Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) called for terrorist designation.
Analysis
The drone strike on El Fasher’s Al-Daraja mosque is both symbolic and strategic. By hitting worshippers during morning prayers, the RSF delivered a terror-inducing blow aimed at breaking community morale while demonstrating battlefield dominance. This marks a tactical evolution: the RSF is not only besieging the city militarily but is also seeking to fracture civilian resilience, particularly among ethnic groups perceived as hostile.
The timing coincides with intensified RSF offensives that have overrun the Abu Shouk displacement camp and penetrated army-aligned Joint Forces headquarters in a former UN compound. Satellite imagery and verified video place the RSF within striking distance of El Fasher’s airport and Sudanese Armed Forces division headquarters, signaling that a full capture of the city is increasingly likely. Should El Fasher fall, the RSF would consolidate control over western Sudan, cementing the country’s de facto partition.
International condemnation has been swift but largely rhetorical. While the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar referenced the Jeddah Declaration, its provisions remain unenforced, and no state has yet signaled willingness to impose costs beyond statements. Calls by Darfur groups to classify the RSF as a terrorist organization highlight rising domestic pressure, but such a designation would take time and may not deter a force that is militarily ascendant on the ground.
Sudan’s Prime Minister Idris is attempting to capitalize on the outrage by spotlighting the siege at the UNGA, yet the army’s capacity to break the encirclement is minimal. Without external intervention, the RSF is poised to force El Fasher into submission, at immense humanitarian cost. Civilians remain trapped, lacking safe exit routes, with reports of famine-level deprivation, sexual violence, and summary executions. The mosque attack, therefore, is less an isolated atrocity than a preview of the RSF’s intended approach to securing Darfur: total warfare against both combatants and communities.
Sources
Sudan Tribune – US, Saudi Arabia and Qatar condemn deadly mosque attack in Sudan’s El Fasher
Sudan Tribune – UN, Darfur groups condemn deadly El Fasher mosque attack
Sudan Tribune – Sudan PM to raise El Fasher siege at UN after deadly mosque attack
BBC – Drone strike on Sudan mosque kills 78, medic tells BBC
