Over 60,000 Escape Sudan's City Following Takeover by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations Reports
According to the UNHCR, over 60,000 individuals have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.
Accounts suggest multiple executions and atrocities as RSF fighters stormed the city following an extended encirclement characterized by food shortages and heavy bombardment.
The flow of those escaping the fighting towards the community of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the last several days, according to United Nations refugee agency representative.
They were narrating terrible accounts of atrocities, such as sexual violence, and the agency was finding it difficult to locate enough accommodation and food for them.
All children was experiencing nutritional deficiencies, she commented.
Estimates suggest that over 150,000 residents are still trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last fortress in the western part of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has disputed widespread accusations that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a practice of the Arab militia groups focusing on non-Arab communities.
Nevertheless the RSF has custodied one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with extrajudicial killings.
The group released recordings showing the fighter's apprehension subsequent to confirmation that he was behind the killing of numerous non-combatants close to el-Fasher.
Digital platform has acknowledged that it has removed the account linked to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had operated the account in his identity.
Sudan was plunged into a domestic fighting in April 2023 after a intense contest for control began between its military and the RSF.
It has led to a famine and allegations of genocide in the Darfur area.
Over 150,000 individuals have died in the fighting throughout the country, and roughly 12 million have fled their homes in what the UN has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
The takeover of el-Fasher reinforces the regional separation in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of Sudan's west and much of adjacent Kordofan to the southern area, and the military holding the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The two warring rivals had been partners - taking over together in a coup in 2021 - but fell out over an globally supported proposal to transition to democratic governance.