At least 70 people were killed and an unknown number were injured in an attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a mosque near the Abu Souk Camp for internally-displaced persons (IDPs) in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, Sudan, on September 19.
The building was reduced to rubble by the attack, which occurred as worshipers gathered for Fajir prayers at approximately 6am, says freedom of religion advocacy group CSW.
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CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: “CSW extends sincere condolences to the families of all who were killed and injured in this appalling attack, which is particularly egregious given the context of the siege of El Fasher that has been ongoing since April 2024. Attacks on places of worship have been launched by all warring parties in Sudan, and amount to severe violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law for which they must be held accountable.”
El Fasher, the only city in Darfur that is not under RSF control, has been under siege since April 2024, despite a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling on the RSF to end it. In April 2025 the RSF seized the Abu Souk and Zamzam camps for IDPs, located approximately 15km from the city. The two camps form the largest IDP settlement in Sudan, housing over 700 000 people between them. Both camps have been turned into military bases by the RSF.
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The UN’s Human Rights Office has warned that ‘There are no safe exit routes out of the city, and civilians are trapped in a situation of impossible choices: stay in El Fasher, and risk bombardment, starvation, and atrocities if the RSF overrun the city; or flee, and face the risk of summary execution, sexual violence, and abduction.’
Ahead of the current session of the UN Human Rights Council, over 100 civil society organisations called for the renewal of the mandate of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) for the Sudan, which in its latest report found that the conflict was a ‘war of atrocities’ targeting civilian populations, and included reports on attacks on places of worship by parties to the conflict.
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Mervyn Thomas continued: “We call on the international community to use every available resource to bring the parties to the conflict to initiate an immediate, nationwide ceasefire, and crucially, to support international mechanisms for justice and accountability, including by renewing the mandate of the UN Fact Finding Mission on Sudan.”
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