UAE-Backed Forces Conduct Deadly Drone Strike in Sudan Mosque

A deadly drone strike on September 19, 2025, targeted a mosque in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, Sudan, killing at least 70 people during Friday dawn prayers. The attack, attributed to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), occurred as the group intensified its siege of the city, which has been under near-constant assault for over a year. Local medical sources and international media reported that the death toll could rise as bodies continued to be recovered from the rubble. The RSF, widely reported to be backed by the United Arab Emirates with advanced weaponry including drones, has been engaged in a brutal civil war with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since April 2023.

Civilian Toll and Humanitarian Crisis

The mosque massacre is the latest atrocity in a conflict that has devastated Sudan, with tens of thousands killed and millions displaced. According to the United Nations Human Rights Office, civilian deaths have surged in 2025, with 3,384 civilians killed in the first half of the year alone—80 percent of the total for all of 2024. The UN describes the situation as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with famine gripping parts of Darfur and southern Sudan. In El Fasher, hundreds of thousands remain trapped, facing starvation and a lack of medical supplies as RSF drones continue to strike civilian infrastructure, including the last functioning hospital in the city.

Eyewitnesses and local resistance committees described the aftermath of the mosque attack as harrowing, with mass graves dug inside the mosque itself. Residents reported that RSF drones continued to circle overhead during the burials, raising fears of further strikes. The RSF’s use of sophisticated drones, reportedly supplied by the UAE, has given the group a decisive advantage in its campaign to seize control of western Sudan, according to local officials and humanitarian workers.

International Condemnation and Calls for Accountability

The attack drew swift condemnation from across the region and beyond. The United Arab Emirates, despite being widely reported as a key backer of the RSF, issued a statement condemning the mosque strike as a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law” and called for an immediate ceasefire and renewed peace talks. Iran’s Foreign Ministry also denounced the attack, urging an end to assaults on civilians and critical infrastructure and emphasizing the need for a Sudanese-led dialogue to resolve the conflict. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed grave alarm at the escalating violence and called on the UN Security Council to take urgent action to protect Sudanese civilians.

Despite these statements, the flow of advanced weaponry to the RSF—particularly drones—remains a central concern for humanitarian organizations and local defenders. The governor of Darfur and leaders of the city’s joint defense forces have accused the UAE of enabling the RSF’s campaign of starvation, shelling, and economic blockade, warning that the fall of El Fasher would have catastrophic consequences for the region’s remaining civilian population.

Escalating Violence and the Struggle for El Fasher

The battle for El Fasher has become a symbol of resistance for Darfur’s besieged communities. Unlike other regional capitals that have fallen to the RSF, local fighters and residents have vowed to defend the city “until the last bullet,” according to the governor and members of the revolutionary resistance committee. The RSF’s relentless drone and artillery attacks have targeted not only mosques but also hospitals and the homes of local officials, further eroding the city’s ability to care for its wounded and displaced.

The International Criminal Court has warned that war crimes and crimes against humanity are likely being committed in Darfur, and humanitarian agencies have called for immediate international intervention to prevent further atrocities. As the siege tightens and the civilian death toll mounts, the fate of El Fasher and its people hangs in the balance, with the international community facing mounting pressure to halt the flow of arms and broker a lasting ceasefire.