A devastating drone strike on a mosque in Sudan’s Darfur region has left more than 70 people dead, according to a senior medic.
The attack occurred Friday in the city of El-Fasher, the last army-controlled stronghold in Darfur, where more than 300,000 residents remain trapped amid an intensifying civil war, reports BBC.
Responsibility for the strike has been directed at the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), though the group has not acknowledged involvement.
The RSF and the Sudanese army have been locked in brutal conflict for over two years, with the paramilitaries now pushing to capture El-Fasher completely.
Witnesses said the drone hit the mosque during morning prayers, killing many worshippers on the spot. The medical source reported 78 fatalities and around 20 injuries, adding that efforts to recover bodies from the debris were still underway.
The BBC confirmed the authenticity of footage showing approximately 30 corpses shrouded in cloth and blankets outside the mosque, located in the city’s west.
The assault came as the RSF escalated its offensive on El-Fasher this week, including fierce attacks on Abu Shouk, a nearby camp for displaced people.
Analysts at Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab said satellite images reveal RSF fighters now hold much of the camp.
The same images indicate the group has entered the headquarters of the Joint Forces, army allies based in a former United Nations compound seen as vital to the city’s defense.
Verified footage shows RSF members inside the facility, though it remains unclear whether they fully control it. The apparent advances put El-Fasher’s airport and the army’s division headquarters within RSF range. The Humanitarian Research Lab warned the city could fall unless the military quickly receives reinforcements.
A takeover of El-Fasher would solidify RSF dominance in western Sudan, reinforcing an effective territorial split, with the army confined to the north and east. Activists fear mass atrocities against civilians in the city, many of whom come from ethnic groups targeted by the RSF.
The UN on Friday cautioned of “increasing ethnicisation of the conflict,” noting both sides have attacked communities suspected of supporting their rivals.
However, the UN and other international agencies have also recorded a consistent RSF campaign of ethnic cleansing against non-Arab groups in areas under their control.
Doctors Without Borders reported that RSF soldiers “spoke of plans to ‘clean El Fasher’ of its non-Arab…community.” The paramilitary force has previously denied such allegations, insisting it is not involved in “tribal conflicts.”
