An artillery attack by Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces killed 13 people and wounded 20 others at a mosque sheltering displaced families in the besieged city of El-Fasher on Wednesday, according to eyewitness accounts.

The strike hit the mosque from the northern direction, where the RSF has overrun the Abu Shouk displacement camp and established fighting positions in their ongoing campaign to wrest control of North Darfur's capital from the Sudanese army.

Tragic details emerged from those who witnessed the aftermath of the bombardment firsthand.

"After the shelling in the afternoon, we pulled 13 bodies from the rubble and buried them," said one local resident who lives in the area, describing the devastating scene.

A survivor of the attack provided even more context about the mosque's role as a sanctuary before it became a target. "We were 70 families inside the mosque's walls after the Rapid Support Forces entered our homes. Yesterday, artillery shells fell, killing 13 of us, wounding 20, and destroying part of the mosque," the survivor stated.

The RSF's current assault on El-Fasher represents its fiercest offensive since the war began with the Sudanese army in April 2023. The North Darfur state capital has been under siege by the RSF since May of last year and remains the last major city still under army control in the region, though territory held by government forces and their allies has progressively shrunk.

This attack is part of a disturbing pattern of targeting civilian infrastructure. Just between Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, 20 people were killed in RSF strikes on El-Fasher Hospital, one of the final functioning health facilities in the city. Last month, a single drone strike on a different mosque killed at least 75 worshippers during dawn prayers. (ILKHA)