“El-Fashir Mosque Massacre” Shakes Sudan: Dozens Killed Amid Tight Siege
Sudan Events – Agencies
The city of El-Fashir, capital of North Darfur, witnessed one of the deadliest attacks in months after a drone strike targeted a crowded mosque during dawn prayers on Friday, September 19, killing dozens of civilians.
According to a network of local doctors, at least 43 people were killed in the strike, though unofficial estimates suggest a higher toll. Images circulated on social media showed harrowing scenes of bodies under rubble and widespread destruction inside the mosque. While independent verification of all visual material was not possible, medical sources confirmed its authenticity.
The attack marks the latest in a series of violations plaguing El-Fashir since it came under siege about 18 months ago by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which withdrew to Darfur after being expelled from Khartoum in March. Reports by Yale University and the United Nations have documented the militia’s construction of earthen barricades stretching for dozens of kilometers around the city, cutting off food and medicine to more than 260,000 civilians trapped inside.
The humanitarian situation has reached catastrophic levels. Local doctors reported that malnourished children have been forced to eat animal fodder to survive, while healthcare services have collapsed and hospitals are struggling to admit the wounded.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights described the atrocities in El-Fashir as potentially amounting to crimes against humanity. Aid organizations warned that the continued siege could trigger a full-scale famine.
The attack coincided with growing political controversy over alleged foreign support to the RSF. The United Arab Emirates faces repeated accusations of supplying the militia with weapons and drones—claims that Abu Dhabi has consistently denied. No independent body has yet established a direct link between this alleged support and the latest mosque strike.
Legally, targeting places of worship during religious rituals constitutes a grave breach of the laws of war and may amount to a war crime requiring accountability. Observers say the incident reflects a dangerous escalation in Sudan’s war, raising fears of Darfur sliding deeper into ethnic violence and humanitarian disaster.
In the end, the El-Fashir mosque strike stands as yet another grim testament to the suffering of civilians caught between war and siege, while the world remains largely absent in efforts to halt the bloodshed and protect the innocent.
