After a deadly drone attack on Friday in el-Fasher left over 70 people dead, the UN secretary-general expressed “grave” concern about the “rapidly deteriorating situation.” He also called for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan’s Darfur region.
In a statement released by his office on Saturday, Antonio Guterres called on the conflicting parties to strike back and offer humanitarian support as the brutal civil war rages through the country in its third year.
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He further stated that “the parties must return to the table of negotiations to reach a consensus.”
El-Fasher, the region’s capital, continues to be Sudan’s (SAF) and its allies’ final major stronghold in the region. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have recently launched a new offensive to occupy the city, have been under siege for more than a year.
As hundreds of thousands of people remain imprisoned without access to food, medicine, and other necessities, humanitarian organizations have raised concerns about the city’s growing hunger.
The Sudanese humanitarian situation, which has caused thousands of people to die and millions of people to flee across the nation, is the worst in the world, according to the UN. Since 2023, the country has been ravaged by the SAF’s war with the RSF.
Many people who have left the city have reported that the RSF attacked them while traveling to nearby refugee camps. An estimated 600, 000 people had been displaced from El-Fasher, according to UNICEF’s estimate in late August.
More than 70 people were killed by a drone attack on Friday during dawn prayers at a mosque, including children. The army listed the death toll as 75, with many more people being forced to flee, after the RSF received accusations of what it termed a “horrific crime” against those who practiced prayer at Al-Safiya Mosque.
According to Hiba Morgan, a journalist from Khartoum, in Sudan, it was one of the “bloodiest days in the city since the RSF began its siege in May of last year.”
She said that civilian facilities have been hit as a result of the RSF’s repeated strikes, including hospitals, schools, and displacement centers.
As world leaders gather in New York for its 80th session, prime minister of Sudan, Kamil Idris, announced that he would address the situation in El-Fasher at the UN General Assembly.
A UNICEF-supported water truck was also reported to have been struck by the attack. UNICEF’s executive director Catherine Russell reaffirmed the attack as “unacceptable” and called for the protection of children while OCHA, the UN’s human rights agency, demanded protection for children.
What he called a “heinous drone strike,” according to Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the president of the African Union, is a flagrant violation of international law.
The UN released a report claiming summary executions, targeted civilians, and ethnic violence were all worsening in Sudan, particularly in the Darfur region.
In the first half of 2025, “a number of trends continued to permeate the country, including indiscriminate attacks and sexual violence against civilians, particularly on an ethnic basis, targeting individuals accused of “collaboration” with opposing parties,” according to the report.
In the first half of this year, according to the report, 3, 384 civilians were killed, with the death toll likely going to be higher because of difficulties in finding reliable information on the ground.
More than 1, 000 children were killed in El-Fasher, according to UNICEF, while others were kidnapped or drafted into armed organizations as a result of UNICEF’s report at the end of August.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) informed the UN Security Council in July of this year that it thought Darfur was committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Rape and sexual assault are being used as weapons. Abductions are now a common occurrence, according to Nazhat Shameem Khan, an ICC prosecutor.
Source: Aljazeera
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