On Friday, September 19, 2025, tragedy struck the besieged city of El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan, when a drone strike devastated a mosque during dawn prayers, killing scores of worshippers and deepening the humanitarian crisis already gripping the region. The attack, widely attributed by local aid groups, activists, and the Sudanese army to the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF), left at least 85 people dead, including 11 children between the ages of 6 and 15, and injured many more, according to reports from the Associated Press and UNICEF.
El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, has been under siege for over a year as the RSF and the Sudanese army battle for control. The siege has made daily life a struggle for survival, with hundreds of thousands of residents enduring severe shortages of food, water, and medical care. The latest attack has not only claimed dozens of lives but also destroyed a place of sanctuary, leaving families shattered and the city’s inhabitants ever more vulnerable.
UNICEF’s Executive Director, Catherine Russell, did not mince words in her condemnation of the strike. Calling the attack "shocking and incomprehensible," Russell highlighted the profound trauma inflicted on children and their families. "The attack disrupted children's sense of safety and destroyed their families," she said, noting that the RSF’s ongoing siege has left civilians, especially children, exposed to escalating violence and deprivation.
The United Nations and humanitarian organizations have sounded the alarm about the deteriorating situation in El Fasher for months. According to Antoine Gerard, the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan at the United Nations, attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure—including hospitals, schools, and mosques—have become distressingly common. Gerard emphasized the grave concern over the deliberate targeting of non-combatants, warning that the lack of safe routes in and out of the city only compounds the danger.
The Sudanese Doctors Syndicate and the Sudan Doctors Network confirmed that three doctors were among those killed in Friday’s strike. Local emergency workers described a harrowing scene: the mosque was completely destroyed, and many bodies remained buried under the rubble. "The danger to civilians is escalating due to the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces," a worker from the Emergency Response Rooms organization stated, underscoring the sense of fear and helplessness pervading the city.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been mired in a brutal civil war. The fighting began when tensions between the Sudanese army and the RSF boiled over, plunging the country into chaos. The conflict has been particularly fierce in Darfur, a region with a long history of violence and suffering. The siege of El Fasher stands as a grim symbol of the war’s human cost.
The World Health Organization has painted a bleak picture of the broader impact: at least 40,000 people have died in the conflict so far, and around 12 million have been displaced from their homes. Famine looms large for many, with aid agencies warning that the ongoing violence and blockades have made it nearly impossible to deliver essential supplies to those in need.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres addressed the crisis with a sense of urgency. "The suffering of the Sudanese people is horrible. So, I think it’s time for the Security Council to be able to take, with the agreement of all the key powers, very tough measures on Sudan," he said. Guterres’s remarks reflect growing frustration among international leaders at the lack of progress toward peace and accountability.
The attack on the El Fasher mosque has drawn condemnation from across the humanitarian community. Catherine Russell of UNICEF stressed that the violence has destroyed not only buildings but also the fragile sense of security that children and families depend on. "Children aged between 6 and 15 were among the victims, in addition to a larger number injured," she reported, adding that the loss of life and trauma will have lasting consequences for the community.
Local relief organizations and activists, as well as the Sudanese army, have placed blame squarely on the RSF for the drone strike. The RSF, which has received backing from the United Arab Emirates, has been accused of repeatedly targeting civilian areas in its campaign to seize control of El Fasher. The group’s tactics—besieging the city, blocking humanitarian access, and attacking non-military sites—have drawn widespread criticism.
The devastation wrought by the drone strike has been compounded by the broader humanitarian emergency in El Fasher. The city’s residents have endured more than a year of siege, with essential services collapsing and aid deliveries severely restricted. Starvation has become a real threat, and the risk of disease outbreaks grows as clean water and medical care become increasingly scarce.
Despite the mounting toll, international efforts to broker a ceasefire or facilitate humanitarian access have stalled. The United Nations and other agencies have repeatedly called for safe corridors to allow civilians to escape the fighting and for aid to reach those in desperate need. However, the entrenched positions of the warring parties and the involvement of external actors have made progress elusive.
For the families of El Fasher, the future remains uncertain. The destruction of the mosque—a place of worship and community—has left a deep wound. Survivors mourn not only their loved ones but also the loss of the routines and rituals that once gave life a sense of normalcy. As one local aid worker put it, "The strike completely destroyed the mosque and buried many bodies under the rubble." The sense of safety, already fragile, has been further eroded.
International observers warn that unless decisive action is taken, the crisis in Sudan will only deepen. The drone strike in El Fasher is just the latest in a series of atrocities that have left the country’s most vulnerable—children, families, and the displaced—paying the highest price. With famine looming and violence unabated, the world’s attention is once again fixed on Sudan, hoping that this latest tragedy will spur long-overdue action.
In the midst of this turmoil, the people of El Fasher continue to endure. They grieve, they rebuild, and they wait—hoping for peace, for justice, and for a day when their city is known not for tragedy, but for resilience.