More than 60,000 Flee Sudanese City In the wake of Seizure by RSF Militia, United Nations States
According to the UN refugee agency, over 60,000 individuals have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was captured by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces over the weekend.
Reports indicate multiple executions and crimes against humanity as paramilitary forces entered the city following an 18-month siege featuring starvation and sustained attacks.
The movement of those fleeing the fighting towards the town of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had increased in the past few days, per United Nations refugee agency representative.
Refugees were narrating terrible accounts of violence, featuring sexual violence, and the organization was finding it difficult to secure adequate accommodation and nourishment for them.
Every child was affected by nutritional deficiencies, she commented.
It is estimated that in excess of 150,000 individuals are still unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the army's final bastion in the western region of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has denied widespread accusations that the executions in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and follow a trend of the Arab militia groups targeting ethnic minorities.
Yet the RSF has arrested one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of extrajudicial killings.
The organization shared video depicting the member's arrest subsequent to confirmation that he was behind the killing of several civilians near el-Fasher.
Social media platform has confirmed that it has banned the channel associated with Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had managed the account in his identity.
Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 after a brutal power struggle began between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
It has resulted in a starvation emergency and allegations of ethnic cleansing in the western Sudan.
Over 150,000 individuals have been killed in the war throughout the country, and roughly 12 million have left their residences in what the UN has called the biggest global humanitarian crisis.
The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the regional separation in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of western Sudan and a large portion of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the army holding the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the coastal region.
The competing factions had been collaborators - taking over together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an internationally backed plan to move towards civilian leadership.