Over 60,000 Run from Sudanese City In the wake of Capture by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, UN Says
As stated by the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 individuals have escaped the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was captured by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces over the weekend.
There have been mass executions and human rights violations as RSF fighters stormed the city after an 18-month siege marked by food shortages and sustained attacks.
The exodus of those running from the violence towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the recent days, per United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
Refugees were describing horrendous tales of atrocities, featuring rape, and the organization was having trouble to secure adequate accommodation and supplies for them.
Every child was suffering from undernourishment, she noted.
Estimates suggest that over 150,000 people are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's remaining bastion in the western part of Darfur.
The RSF has rejected widespread claims that the deaths in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a trend of the Arab militia groups attacking non-Arab communities.
However the RSF has custodied one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with summary executions.
The organization shared footage depicting the fighter's arrest after verification that he was involved in the killing of several unarmed men close to el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has confirmed that it has removed the channel connected to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had controlled the profile in his identity.
Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 following a brutal contest for control broke out between its military and the RSF.
This has led to a food crisis and claims of ethnic cleansing in the Darfur area.
In excess of 150,000 persons have died in the conflict across the country, and approximately 12 million have fled their dwellings in what the UN has called the most extensive humanitarian disaster.
The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in command of western Sudan and much of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the military occupying the main city, Khartoum, the center and east along the Red Sea.
The two warring rivals had been collaborators - gaining control together in a coup in 2021 - but fell out over an internationally backed proposal to transition to civilian rule.
