More than 60,000 Flee Sudan's City After Seizure by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, UN Reports
As stated by the UN refugee agency, over 60,000 individuals have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia RSF during the weekend.
There have been mass executions and atrocities as paramilitary forces stormed the city after an year-and-a-half siege characterized by food shortages and heavy bombardment.
The flow of those fleeing the conflict towards the town of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the last several days, per UNHCR spokesperson.
Refugees were narrating terrible tales of violence, including sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was struggling to secure adequate accommodation and nourishment for them.
Each child was affected by nutritional deficiencies, she commented.
Estimates suggest that more than 150,000 residents are currently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining stronghold in the western region of Darfur.
The RSF has disputed extensive accusations that the deaths in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a pattern of the Arab militia groups focusing on non-Arab populations.
Nevertheless the paramilitary group has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of summary executions.
The group shared recordings revealing the member's arrest subsequent to identification that he was behind the execution of numerous civilians in the vicinity of el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has confirmed that it has banned the account connected to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had managed the profile in his identity.
Sudan was entered a civil war in April 2023 when a brutal power struggle broke out between its army and the Rapid Support Forces.
The conflict has led to a starvation emergency and claims of mass killing in the Darfur area.
Over 150,000 individuals have been killed in the war across the country, and roughly 12 million have abandoned their residences in what the UN has termed the world's largest humanitarian emergency.
The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of western Sudan and significant areas of bordering Kordofan to the southern area, and the army occupying the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the coastal region.
The opposing sides had been partners - gaining control together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but fell out over an foreign-endorsed plan to advance to democratic governance.
