More than 60,000 Escape Sudan's City After Seizure by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, UN States
Per the UN refugee agency, in excess of 60,000 civilians have left the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was captured by the paramilitary RSF over the weekend.
Accounts suggest multiple executions and crimes against humanity as RSF fighters stormed the city following an year-and-a-half blockade featuring starvation and sustained attacks.
The exodus of those running from the fighting towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the past few days, as stated by United Nations refugee agency representative.
Refugees were telling shocking tales of atrocities, including rape, and the agency was having trouble to locate sufficient housing and food for them.
Each child was affected by undernourishment, she commented.
It is estimated that over 150,000 residents are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last stronghold in the western region of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has denied extensive claims that the deaths in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and resemble a trend of the Arab militia groups attacking ethnic minorities.
However the paramilitary group has arrested one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with extrajudicial killings.
The force released recordings revealing the member's arrest following identification that he was responsible for the killing of multiple unarmed men in the vicinity of el-Fasher.
Social media platform has verified that it has suspended the profile linked to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had managed the profile in his identity.
Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 after a brutal contest for control broke out between its army and the RSF.
This has led to a starvation emergency and accusations of genocide in the western Sudan.
Over 150,000 individuals have lost their lives in the conflict around the country, and about 12 million have fled their residences in what the UN has described as the biggest global humanitarian disaster.
The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in dominance of Sudan's west and significant areas of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the army occupying the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the coastal region.
The opposing sides had been partners - taking over together in a takeover in 2021 - but split over an globally supported plan to move towards civilian rule.
