In excess of 60,000 Run from Sudan's City Following Seizure by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, United Nations Says
As stated by the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 people have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the paramilitary RSF during the weekend.
Reports indicate mass executions and crimes against humanity as paramilitary forces entered the city following an 18-month siege marked by famine and intense shelling.
The movement of those fleeing the violence towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the 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, such as rape, and the organization was struggling to find sufficient housing and supplies for them.
Each child was experiencing malnutrition, she noted.
Calculations indicate that more than 150,000 residents are presently unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last fortress in the western part of Darfur.
The RSF has denied broad allegations that the killings in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a pattern of the Arab militia groups focusing on ethnic minorities.
However the paramilitary group has custodied one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with on-the-spot executions.
The organization released recordings depicting the fighter's detention subsequent to confirmation that he was responsible for the killing of several non-combatants near el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has confirmed that it has removed the account associated with Lulu. It is not clear whether he had managed the profile in his identity.
Sudan was thrown into a domestic fighting in April 2023 after a vicious contest for control began between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
It has led to a starvation emergency and accusations of ethnic cleansing in the western Darfur region.
In excess of 150,000 people have lost their lives in the war around the country, and about 12 million have left their residences in what the United Nations has termed the most extensive humanitarian disaster.
The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the geographic split in the country, with the RSF now in command of the western region and much of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the army controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the coastal region.
The opposing sides had been allies - gaining control together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an internationally backed proposal to advance to civilian leadership.