In excess of 60,000 Run from Sudanese City After Capture by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, UN States
As stated by the UN refugee agency, over 60,000 civilians have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.
Accounts suggest mass executions and atrocities as RSF fighters took control of the city following an year-and-a-half blockade featuring famine and sustained attacks.
The flow of those escaping the fighting towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the past few days, according to UNHCR representative.
Refugees were telling terrible accounts of atrocities, including sexual violence, and the agency was finding it difficult to locate enough housing and supplies for them.
Each child was affected by malnutrition, she noted.
Calculations indicate that more than 150,000 individuals are still unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last stronghold in the western region of Darfur.
The RSF has disputed broad claims that the killings in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a practice of the Arab fighters targeting non-Arab populations.
However the RSF has arrested one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in summary executions.
The organization shared recordings depicting the member's arrest subsequent to confirmation that he was responsible for the death of multiple unarmed men near el-Fasher.
Digital platform has verified that it has banned the account associated with Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had controlled the account in his identity.
Sudan was entered a civil war in April 2023 when a intense contest for control began between its military and the RSF.
The conflict has resulted in a famine and allegations of mass killing in the western Darfur region.
Over 150,000 individuals have lost their lives in the war around the country, and about 12 million have abandoned their homes in what the UN has called the most extensive humanitarian crisis.
The seizure of el-Fasher strengthens the geographic split in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of western Sudan and much of bordering Kordofan to the southern area, and the military holding the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The competing factions had been partners - coming to power together in a takeover in 2021 - but split over an globally supported plan to advance to civilian rule.