Over 60,000 Escape Sudanese City Following Capture by RSF Paramilitary Group, UN Says
As stated by the United Nations refugee organization, in excess of 60,000 people have left the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia RSF recently.
There have been summary killings and atrocities as paramilitary forces entered the city following an 18-month blockade characterized by food shortages and intense shelling.
The movement of those escaping the conflict towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had increased in the last several days, according to United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
Refugees were narrating terrible accounts of atrocities, such as sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was having trouble to find adequate accommodation and supplies for them.
Every child was affected by undernourishment, she added.
It is estimated that over 150,000 individuals are still stranded 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 killings in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and follow a practice of the Arab paramilitaries targeting non-Arab populations.
Nevertheless the paramilitary group has custodied one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of extrajudicial killings.
The force distributed recordings showing the fighter's detention subsequent to identification that he was behind the death of multiple unarmed men close to el-Fasher.
Social media platform has acknowledged that it has suspended the channel connected to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had managed the profile in his name.
Sudan was plunged into a civil war in April 2023 after a brutal contest for control erupted between its military and the RSF.
It has caused a famine and claims of mass killing in the Darfur area.
In excess of 150,000 individuals have been killed in the fighting throughout the country, and about 12 million have abandoned their residences in what the United Nations has called the world's largest humanitarian emergency.
The seizure of el-Fasher strengthens the geographic split in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of western Sudan and much of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the military controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the coastal region.
The two warring rivals had been allies - coming to power together in a takeover in 2021 - but disagreed over an globally supported initiative to transition to democratic governance.
