More than 60,000 Run from Sudanese City Following Capture by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, UN Says
Per the UN refugee agency, in excess of 60,000 civilians have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia Rapid Support Forces recently.
Reports indicate summary killings and atrocities as paramilitary forces stormed the city after an 18-month encirclement featuring starvation and sustained attacks.
The exodus of those escaping the violence towards the community of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the recent days, as stated by UNHCR representative.
They were narrating shocking stories of abuses, including sexual violence, and the agency was having trouble to find enough accommodation and nourishment for them.
All children was suffering from undernourishment, she commented.
It is estimated that more than 150,000 people are currently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining fortress in the western region of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has disputed broad allegations that the killings in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and mirror a pattern of the Arab fighters attacking non-Arab communities.
However the paramilitary group has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with on-the-spot executions.
The group distributed footage revealing the member's arrest after identification that he was involved in the death of several civilians in the vicinity of el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has confirmed that it has banned the account associated with Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had managed the account in his identity.
Sudan was plunged into a civil war in April 2023 after a brutal struggle for power began between its military and the RSF.
It has caused a starvation emergency and accusations of genocide in the western Sudan.
More than 150,000 persons have been killed in the war throughout the country, and approximately 12 million have abandoned their dwellings in what the United Nations has called the most extensive humanitarian disaster.
The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the geographic split in the country, with the RSF now in command of the western region and much of neighbouring Kordofan to the southern area, and the army controlling the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the coastal region.
The opposing sides had been allies - taking over together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an internationally backed proposal to transition to civilian leadership.
