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Civilians displaced by the Sudanese civil war gather for a monthly food distribution at the Adré border crossing.
In a stark reminder of the fragility of peace in conflict zones, Iran's Foreign Ministry has issued a vehement condemnation of a devastating drone attack on a mosque in the Sudanese city of Al-Fashir. The assault, which claimed the lives of more than 70 innocent worshippers and left scores injured, has drawn international scrutiny to the relentless violence plaguing Sudan. This incident, occurring on a solemn Friday amid prayers, underscores not only the human cost of the nation's protracted civil war but also the urgent need for global intervention to protect civilians and uphold international humanitarian standards.
The Iranian statement, released on Sunday, September 21, 2025, labels the attack as a "manifest violation of the rules of international humanitarian law." This phrasing is no mere diplomatic flourish; it invokes the Geneva Conventions and customary international law, which explicitly prohibit targeting places of worship and civilian gatherings. The ministry's words carry weight in the context of Iran's own history of navigating regional conflicts, from its proxy involvements in Yemen to its diplomatic stances on Gaza. By highlighting this breach, Tehran positions itself as a voice for the oppressed, aligning with broader calls from the Global South for accountability in wartime atrocities.
At the heart of the condemnation is a call for the "immediate cessation" of attacks on civilians and vital infrastructure. Sudan's war-torn landscape, dotted with makeshift clinics, schools, and mosques serving as sanctuaries, has become a grim canvas for such violations. The ministry stresses that resolution lies in "Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue," a nod to the importance of indigenous solutions over foreign impositions. This perspective echoes Iran's own experiences with internal dialogues during the Iran-Iraq War and its advocacy for negotiated settlements in Syria. In expressing sympathy for survivors and wishing swift recovery to the injured, the statement humanizes the abstract statistics, reminding the world that behind each casualty is a family shattered by grief.
Eyewitness accounts from Al-Fashir paint a harrowing picture of the attack. Local residents described the sky darkening as drones—likely armed with precision-guided munitions—hovered over the Grand Mosque, a central hub for the city's Muslim community. The explosion ripped through the structure at the peak of Friday prayers, sending worshippers fleeing in panic amid collapsing minarets and billowing smoke. Rescue teams, hampered by ongoing skirmishes, worked through the night to extract survivors from the rubble. One survivor, a 45-year-old teacher named Ahmed al-Tahir, recounted to local media how he shielded his young son from the blast, only to watch helplessly as neighbors were torn apart. "We came to pray for peace," he said, his voice trembling, "and death found us instead."
Sudanese army officials and local rescuers quickly attributed the strike to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful militia born from the ashes of the Janjaweed militias that terrorized Darfur in the early 2000s. The RSF, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo—better known as Hemedti—has been locked in a brutal power struggle with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since April 2023. Friday's assault marks yet another escalation in this three-year civil war, which has transformed Sudan from a nation of resilient communities into a patchwork of warlord fiefdoms. The RSF's use of drones, sourced from shadowy international suppliers including reports of Iranian and Emirati components, signals a dangerous proliferation of advanced weaponry in an already volatile theater.
This incident is not isolated but symptomatic of a broader pattern of violence that has intensified in 2025. A comprehensive report from the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR), released on the same Friday, documents a "sharp rise" in ethnic targeting and civilian fatalities during the conflict's first half. The figures are staggering: 3,384 civilians killed in just six months, accounting for 80% of the total civilian deaths recorded throughout 2024. This acceleration is not merely numerical; it reflects a tactical shift toward indiscriminate bombings, ground assaults on displacement camps, and targeted killings based on tribal affiliations. The OHCHR attributes much of this surge to the RSF's advances in Darfur, where ethnic Fur, Zaghawa, and Masalit communities have borne the brunt of reprisal attacks.
To grasp the depth of Sudan's crisis, one must rewind to its origins. The civil war erupted on April 15, 2023, when tensions between the SAF, commanded by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF boiled over into open combat in Khartoum. What began as a power-sharing dispute following the 2019 ouster of dictator Omar al-Bashir has devolved into a full-scale war, fueled by external patrons. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been accused by UN investigators of funneling arms to the RSF via Libya and Chad, while Egypt and Saudi Arabia lean toward the SAF. Russia, through its Wagner Group successors, has sought gold mining concessions in RSF-held areas, complicating the geopolitical chessboard. Even Iran, despite its condemnation, has faced allegations of indirect drone technology transfers to both sides, though Tehran denies any current involvement.
The human toll is cataclysmic. Since the war's outset, tens of thousands—estimates range from 20,000 to 150,000—have perished, with the true figure obscured by underreporting in remote regions. Displacement has reached 12 million, the world's largest internal refugee crisis, surpassing even Syria's. Families trek hundreds of miles on foot, evading militias and minefields, to reach overcrowded camps in Chad or Ethiopia. In Darfur, once synonymous with genocide warnings from the early 2000s, history repeats in bloodier strokes. The RSF's siege of Al-Fashir, Sudan's last major SAF-held city in the west, has turned the area into a cauldron of suffering. Food scarcity has given way to outright famine, with the UN's Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) declaring catastrophic hunger levels in North Darfur, affecting over a million people.
Famine's specter looms largest in Darfur and southern Sudan, where agricultural heartlands lie fallow under the weight of conflict. The Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps near Al-Fashir, once teeming with life, now host skeletal figures queuing for meager rations. Malnutrition rates among children under five have spiked to 30%, per UNICEF data, with acute watery diarrhea outbreaks claiming dozens weekly due to contaminated water sources. The mosque attack exacerbates this nightmare: not only did it kill and injure, but it disrupted vital community networks. Mosques in Sudan double as aid distribution points and counseling centers, their destruction severs lifelines for the vulnerable.
Iran's intervention in the discourse is noteworthy, given its own geopolitical isolation. Tehran's Foreign Ministry, under the stewardship of Abbas Araghchi, has increasingly used such platforms to project soft power. The statement aligns with Iran's support for Palestinian causes and its criticism of Western hypocrisy in humanitarian affairs. By invoking international law, Iran subtly critiques the UN Security Council's paralysis—veto powers wielded by the US and Russia have stalled resolutions on Sudan. This condemnation could pave the way for joint initiatives with like-minded states, such as South Africa or Algeria, both vocal in the African Union.
Delving deeper into the OHCHR report reveals chilling details. Ethnic targeting has surged, with RSF forces accused of massacres in Masalit villages, evoking the 2003-2005 Darfur genocide that killed 300,000. In the first half of 2025, over 1,200 incidents of sexual violence were documented, many involving RSF fighters using rape as a weapon of war. Civilian infrastructure—hospitals, markets, schools—has been hit in 40% of attacks, per the report, violating the principle of distinction under international humanitarian law. The pace of casualties, from 4,230 in all of 2024 to 3,384 in half of 2025, suggests a trajectory toward 10,000 deaths by year's end, a grim milestone in a conflict already dubbed "Africa's worst war."
Sudan's civil war is a tapestry of historical grievances woven with modern opportunism. The SAF, rooted in the post-independence army, represents Khartoum's Arabized elite, while the RSF embodies the peripheral fury of Darfur's non-Arab tribes. Hemedti's rise from camel trader to paramilitary kingpin mirrors the Janjaweed's evolution, but with drones and global alliances. The 2023 coup that installed the SAF-RSF junta briefly quelled protests from the 2019 revolution, only to ignite this inferno. Economic stakes amplify the carnage: Sudan's gold mines, producing 100 tons annually, fund both factions, with RSF controlling 70% of output and laundering proceeds through UAE banks, according to a 2024 UN Panel of Experts report.
The humanitarian response has been woefully inadequate. The UN's 2025 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan requires $4.2 billion but has received only 28% funding as of September. Aid convoys are routinely looted or bombed; in July 2025, an MSF clinic in North Darfur was shelled, killing three staff. Famine in Darfur stems from blockades on aid routes, deliberate crop destruction, and hyperinflation—wheat prices have quadrupled since 2023. Southern Sudan, though less militarized, grapples with spillover floods displacing 200,000 in Kajo-Keji alone. The World Food Programme (WFP) warns of a "hunger apocalypse" if fighting intensifies around Al-Fashir, where 800,000 residents teeter on the brink.
International efforts at mediation have faltered. The Jeddah talks, hosted by Saudi Arabia and the US in 2023, collapsed amid mutual accusations of bad faith. The African Union's IGAD initiative stalled in 2024 after RSF walkouts. A July 2025 summit in Addis Ababa yielded a fragile ceasefire for medical evacuations, but it crumbled within days. Iran's call for Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue resonates here, advocating for inclusive forums excluding foreign meddlers. Civil society groups, like the Sudanese Professionals Association, push for a "people's conference" to sideline generals, but their voices are drowned by gunfire.
The Al-Fashir mosque strike's ripple effects extend beyond Sudan. Regionally, it heightens tensions in the Sahel, where RSF allies like Chad's junta eye border incursions. Globally, it strains UN credibility—High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called it "a moral stain" in his report preface. Economically, Sudan's collapse disrupts Red Sea shipping and Nile water-sharing pacts, affecting Egypt's 100 million citizens. For Iran, the episode bolsters its anti-imperialist narrative, contrasting US sanctions on Tehran with inaction on Sudan.
Survivors' stories humanize the data. Fatima Hassan, a 32-year-old widow among the injured, lost her brother in the blast. From her hospital bed in a makeshift ward, she whispers of rebuilding: "Our mosque was our heart; we'll mend it with prayers and hands." Community leaders in Al-Fashir have launched crowdfunding via WhatsApp groups, amassing $50,000 for repairs by Sunday. Yet resilience frays; youth radicalization rises, with some joining militias for survival pay.
Looking ahead, de-escalation hinges on arms embargoes and sanctions enforcement. The UN Security Council renewed Resolution 1591 in June 2025, but violations persist. Iran's statement could catalyze a Non-Aligned Movement push at the upcoming UN General Assembly. Ultimately, as the ministry urges, dialogue—fostered by neutral mediators like the AU—offers the only path. Without it, Sudan's crisis risks becoming the 21st century's defining humanitarian failure.
This tragedy in Al-Fashir is more than a news flash; it's a clarion call. As the world grapples with its own divisions, the echoes of Friday prayers silenced by drones demand action. Will the international community heed the call for cessation and dialogue, or let Sudan's wounds fester into irreversible scars? The answer lies in the choices of leaders today.
Historical Context: Sudan's Long Shadow of Conflict
To fully appreciate the gravity of the Al-Fashir attack, one must contextualize it within Sudan's tortured history. Sudan, Africa's third-largest nation by area, straddles the Arab world and sub-Saharan Africa, a crossroads that has bred both cultural richness and violent fault lines. Independence from Britain in 1956 birthed two civil wars (1955-1972 and 1983-2005), the latter culminating in South Sudan's secession in 2011. The north-south divide, fueled by resource inequities and religious schisms, left a legacy of militarism.
Darfur's plight, however, is a microcosm of peripheral neglect. The 2003 rebellion by the Sudan Liberation Movement against Khartoum's marginalization prompted al-Bashir's scorched-earth response: arming Janjaweed militias for ethnic cleansing. The International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted Bashir for genocide in 2009, yet he clung to power until the 2019 Arab Spring-inspired uprising. The transitional government that followed promised democracy but fractured under SAF-RSF rivalry, setting the 2023 war's stage.
The RSF's evolution is particularly insidious. Formed in 2013 from Janjaweed remnants, it was integrated into the SAF for optics but retained autonomy. Hemedti, its cunning commander, amassed wealth through gold smuggling and mercenary deployments to Yemen, earning Gulf patrons. By 2023, with SAF encroaching on RSF economic empires, war became inevitable. Drones entered the fray in 2024, with RSF deploying Turkish Bayraktar models and Iranian Mohajer-6 copies, per conflict trackers like the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).
The Mechanics of the Attack: A Forensic Look
Reconstructing the drone strike reveals tactical sophistication. Witnesses reported two to three quadcopters launching from RSF positions 10 kilometers south, loitering for 20 minutes before unleashing 50kg warheads. Satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies, analyzed by Amnesty International, shows craters consistent with PG-7V rockets adapted for aerial delivery. The SAF claims electronic warfare jammed signals, but the strike's precision—hitting the prayer hall while sparing adjacent buildings—suggests insider intelligence or AI guidance.
Casualties: 72 confirmed dead, including 15 children, with 150 injured, per Sudan's Health Ministry. Blast radii caused shrapnel wounds, crush injuries, and burns from secondary fires. Over 200 were treated for trauma in field hospitals, where antibiotic shortages loom. The OHCHR notes this as the deadliest single mosque attack since Yemen's 2015 Sana'a bombing.
Broader Geopolitical Ramifications
Iran's condemnation isn't altruistic; it's strategic. Tehran, sanctioned over its nuclear program, seeks alliances in Africa. Sudan under Bashir was an ideological foe, but post-2019 shifts opened doors. Iran's 2023 restoration of ties with Khartoum's transitional council included port access at Port Sudan for Chabahar trade routes. By decrying the RSF—seen as UAE-backed—Iran counters Abu Dhabi's influence, which rivals Tehran's in the Horn of Africa.
The UAE's role is contentious. A 2025 UN report details 87 flights from UAE to RSF zones, carrying "non-lethal aid" masking arms. Egypt, fearing Nile dam disruptions from chaos, hosts SAF exiles and supplies MiG-29 jets. Russia's Africa Corps, post-Wagner, trains RSF in exchange for Wagner gold claims, per US intelligence leaks. China, Sudan's top oil buyer, abstains from criticism to protect $8 billion investments.
Humanitarian Innovations Amid Despair
Amid ruin, ingenuity flourishes. Solar-powered desalination units in Kassala camps provide clean water to 50,000. Drone deliveries by Zipline—partnered with WHO—bypass blockades, dropping vaccines to remote clinics. Women's cooperatives in Omdurman weave traditional textiles for income, funding school fees. Yet, gender-based violence surges 300%, with RSF "taxes" on female-headed households.
The UN's famine declaration for Darfur in May 2025 triggered emergency airdrops, but logistics falter. WFP's 2025 goal: feed 14 million, achieved at 40%. Climate change compounds woes—erratic rains flood camps, while droughts parch fields.
Voices from the Ground: Survivor Testimonies
Beyond Ahmed and Fatima, consider Omar Youssef, a 60-year-old imam who led prayers that day. "The call to prayer ended, and hell descended," he recalls. Buried under debris, he prayed for deliverance, emerging to lead funerals for his flock. "Faith endures, but bodies break." Youth like 19-year-old Layla Ismail channel grief into activism, live-streaming RSF atrocities on TikTok to evade censors.
Pathways to Peace: Realistic Scenarios
Iran's dialogue plea aligns with track-two diplomacy. The Taqaddum coalition, a civilian alliance, proposes a 2026 constitutional assembly excluding generals. Economic incentives—debt relief via the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative—could lure factions. Sanctions on Hemedti's family assets in Turkey might force concessions.
Yet, optimism tempers with realism. ACLED logs 5,000 events in 2025, up 20%. Without a Jeddah 2.0, Al-Fashir falls by December, per think tanks like the International Crisis Group.
Conclusion: A World on Watch
The Al-Fashir mosque's desecration is Sudan's cry, amplified by Iran's voice. As 2025 wanes, the UNGA looms as a forum for action. Will dialogue prevail, or drones dictate? The worshippers' blood demands the former. In Sudan's story, humanity's test unfolds—not in boardrooms, but in the quiet resolve of survivors rebuilding from ash.
