In excess of 60,000 Flee Sudanese City Following Capture by RSF Militia, UN Reports
As stated by the UNHCR, over 60,000 individuals have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.
Accounts suggest mass executions and crimes against humanity as RSF fighters took control of the city after an extended encirclement characterized by famine and heavy bombardment.
The flow of those fleeing the violence towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the past few days, per United Nations refugee agency representative.
Refugees were narrating shocking accounts of abuses, including sexual violence, and the organization was finding it difficult to locate adequate shelter and nourishment for them.
All children was affected by nutritional deficiencies, she commented.
Estimates suggest that in excess of 150,000 people are still trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the military's final stronghold in the western region of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has disputed widespread allegations that the deaths in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and resemble a pattern of the Arab fighters focusing on ethnic minorities.
Nevertheless the RSF has arrested one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in summary executions.
The organization distributed recordings revealing the fighter's detention after verification that he was responsible for the killing of numerous civilians near el-Fasher.
Social media platform has acknowledged that it has banned the account linked to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had managed the profile in his name.
Sudan was plunged into a domestic fighting in April 2023 after a intense struggle for power erupted between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
It has resulted in a food crisis and accusations of ethnic cleansing in the Darfur area.
More than 150,000 people have died in the fighting across the country, and approximately 12 million have left their residences in what the United Nations has described as the biggest global humanitarian disaster.
The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of western Sudan and much of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the army controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea.
The two warring rivals had been collaborators - gaining control together in a coup in 2021 - but fell out over an globally supported initiative to transition to civilian leadership.