Over 60,000 Escape Sudan's City Following Takeover by RSF Paramilitary Group, UN Reports
According to the UNHCR, over 60,000 individuals have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was captured by the militia Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.
Reports indicate summary killings and crimes against humanity as militia members took control of the city following an year-and-a-half siege marked by famine and sustained attacks.
The flow of those fleeing the fighting towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had increased in the recent days, as stated by United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
Survivors were telling horrendous tales of abuses, such as sexual violence, and the agency was having trouble to locate adequate shelter and nourishment for them.
Every child was affected by nutritional deficiencies, she noted.
It is estimated that over 150,000 residents are presently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last fortress in the western part of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has rejected widespread accusations that the executions in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and mirror a practice of the Arab fighters targeting non-Arab communities.
Nevertheless the RSF has custodied one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with summary executions.
The group shared footage depicting the fighter's apprehension following confirmation that he was behind the killing of multiple non-combatants in the vicinity of el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has confirmed that it has banned the account connected to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had controlled the profile in his identity.
Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 after a vicious contest for control erupted between its military and the RSF.
This has led to a famine and allegations of ethnic cleansing in the western Sudan.
More than 150,000 people have lost their lives in the war around the country, and roughly 12 million have abandoned their residences in what the UN has described as the most extensive humanitarian emergency.
The seizure of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of western Sudan and significant areas of adjacent Kordofan to the southern area, and the military controlling the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the Red Sea.
The opposing sides had been collaborators - gaining control together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an internationally backed initiative to advance to civilian rule.
