In excess of 60,000 Flee Sudanese City After Capture by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, United Nations Reports
Per the UNHCR, more than 60,000 civilians have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.
Reports indicate multiple executions and crimes against humanity as paramilitary forces entered the city after an 18-month blockade marked by famine and intense shelling.
The movement of those fleeing the conflict towards the town of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the recent days, according to UNHCR spokesperson.
Survivors were narrating terrible stories of violence, such as sexual violence, and the agency was finding it difficult to secure sufficient housing and supplies for them.
Each child was experiencing undernourishment, she noted.
Estimates suggest that over 150,000 residents are presently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the military's final bastion in the western region of Darfur.
The RSF has disputed broad claims that the deaths in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a pattern of the Arab fighters attacking non-Arab communities.
Nevertheless the RSF has detained one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with on-the-spot executions.
The organization released footage revealing the member's apprehension following confirmation that he was involved in the death of numerous non-combatants close to el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has acknowledged that it has suspended the channel associated with Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had managed the account in his identity.
Sudan was entered a civil war in April 2023 when a brutal contest for control broke out between its army and the RSF.
It has led to a famine and allegations of mass killing in the western Sudan.
In excess of 150,000 individuals have lost their lives in the conflict throughout the country, and approximately 12 million have fled their residences in what the United Nations has described as the world's largest humanitarian emergency.
The takeover of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of Sudan's west and significant areas of neighbouring Kordofan to the southern area, and the military controlling the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the coastal region.
The two warring rivals had been collaborators - gaining control together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an foreign-endorsed initiative to advance to civilian rule.