UN, Darfur Groups Condemn Deadly El Fasher Mosque Attack

The Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Denise Brown

September 19, 2025 (EL FASHER) – The United Nations and major armed movements in Darfur on Friday condemned a deadly drone strike on a mosque in El Fasher, with local groups demanding the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) be designated a terrorist organization.

The attack occurred during dawn prayers when a suicide drone struck a mosque in the city’s Al-Daraja neighbourhood, near the Abu Shouk camp for displaced persons. Medical and local sources, who blamed the RSF, reported that more than 70 worshippers were killed, including prominent tribal leaders.

The UN’s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Denise Brown, condemned the attack, stressing that international humanitarian law protects religious sites and civilians. She called for an investigation and demanded that the perpetrators be held accountable.

“This ongoing siege of El Fasher has already created a severe humanitarian crisis, cutting off food, medicine and other life-saving support,” Brown said in a statement, reiterating the UN’s call for an immediate ceasefire and for unimpeded humanitarian access.

Her condemnation came as a separate UN human rights report highlighted a significant rise in civilian killings and worsening ethnic violence across Sudan in the first half of the year.

Among Sudanese factions, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), led by Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim, described the incident as a “full-fledged war crime.” Similarly, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), headed by Darfur Region Governor Minni Arko Minawi, stated the attack was a “war crime against innocent and unarmed civilians” and that it was sufficient cause to classify the RSF as a terrorist group.

The Joint Force of armed movements, which is fighting alongside the Sudanese army, called the bombing a “moral crime” and part of a “genocidal war against the citizens of El Fasher.” The force claimed the RSF is targeting civilians out of revenge for its “battlefield losses.”

“Our military headquarters and our defences are known to you,” the Joint Force statement said, addressing the RSF directly. “You must face us away from targeting civilians.”

However, the unified condemnation from armed groups was met with sharp criticism from within the besieged city itself. The Coordination of El Fasher Resistance Committees accused both the central government and the Darfur movement leaders of abandoning the city.

The committees said El Fasher has been left to fight alone “between the hammer of the militias and the anvil of official abandonment,” while leaders hold “empty press conferences” from afar.