Over 60,000 Run from Sudan's City After Takeover by RSF Militia, UN Reports
As stated by the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 civilians have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the paramilitary RSF during the weekend.
There have been summary killings and crimes against humanity as paramilitary forces took control of the city after an extended encirclement featuring starvation and heavy bombardment.
The flow of those escaping the conflict towards the town of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the recent days, according to United Nations refugee agency representative.
Refugees were narrating terrible stories of abuses, including rape, and the agency was finding it difficult to find enough housing and food for them.
All children was suffering from malnutrition, she commented.
It is estimated that over 150,000 residents are currently unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining fortress 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 mirror a practice of the Arab fighters focusing on non-Arab populations.
Nevertheless the paramilitary group has detained one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in summary executions.
The group shared video showing the member's arrest following identification that he was behind the execution of several unarmed men close to el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has verified that it has banned the channel connected to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had managed the profile in his name.
Sudan was thrown into a domestic fighting in April 2023 following a brutal contest for control began between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
This has caused a famine and allegations of ethnic cleansing in the western Darfur region.
Over 150,000 individuals have been killed in the fighting across the country, and about 12 million have left their homes in what the United Nations has described as the world's largest humanitarian emergency.
The takeover of el-Fasher reinforces the geographic split in the country, with the RSF now in control of the western region and a large portion of bordering Kordofan to the southern area, and the army holding the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the coastal region.
The competing factions had been allies - taking over together in a takeover in 2021 - but split over an internationally backed plan to move towards democratic governance.