More than 60,000 Flee Sudan's City After Capture by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations States
Per the United Nations refugee organization, in excess of 60,000 civilians have fled the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the paramilitary RSF recently.
There have been summary killings and human rights violations as RSF fighters stormed the city after an year-and-a-half blockade marked by food shortages and intense shelling.
The flow of those fleeing the fighting towards the town of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the last several days, according to United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
They were telling terrible accounts of violence, including sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was finding it difficult to find sufficient shelter and food for them.
Every child was experiencing malnutrition, she commented.
Estimates suggest that in excess of 150,000 residents are currently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's final bastion in the western region of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has rejected extensive claims that the executions in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a pattern of the Arab paramilitaries focusing on non-Arab populations.
Yet the RSF has detained one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in on-the-spot executions.
The group released video depicting the militiaman's arrest subsequent to confirmation that he was involved in the execution of multiple civilians near el-Fasher.
Digital platform has acknowledged that it has suspended the account linked to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had operated the account in his identity.
Sudan was entered a civil war in April 2023 following a brutal contest for control began between its military and the RSF.
The conflict has caused a food crisis and claims of mass killing in the Darfur area.
Over 150,000 individuals have died in the conflict throughout the country, and about 12 million have fled their homes in what the United Nations has called the biggest global humanitarian disaster.
The capture of el-Fasher solidifies the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in dominance of western Sudan and much of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the military occupying the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the coastal region.
The opposing sides had been allies - coming to power together in a takeover in 2021 - but split over an globally supported initiative to move towards civilian rule.