More than 60,000 Run from Sudan's City In the wake of Capture by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, United Nations Says
Per the UN refugee agency, over 60,000 individuals have fled the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was captured by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces over the weekend.
Reports indicate multiple executions and human rights violations as militia members stormed the city after an 18-month blockade characterized by famine and sustained attacks.
The movement of those fleeing the violence towards the community of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the past few days, as stated by UNHCR spokesperson.
Survivors were telling shocking stories of abuses, including sexual violence, and the organization was having trouble to locate adequate shelter and food for them.
Each child was affected by malnutrition, she added.
It is estimated that over 150,000 residents are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining fortress in the western region of Darfur.
The RSF has disputed broad allegations that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and resemble a pattern of the Arab fighters focusing on ethnic minorities.
However the RSF has detained one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in on-the-spot executions.
The force released recordings depicting the member's detention after identification that he was behind the execution of numerous unarmed men close to el-Fasher.
Social media platform has acknowledged that it has suspended the channel linked to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had operated the profile in his name.
Sudan was plunged into a domestic fighting in April 2023 following a intense contest for control began between its army and the Rapid Support Forces.
This has caused a famine and allegations of ethnic cleansing in the western Sudan.
In excess of 150,000 people have died in the conflict across the country, and roughly 12 million have fled their homes in what the UN has termed the biggest global humanitarian disaster.
The capture of el-Fasher solidifies the regional separation in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of Sudan's west and much of neighbouring Kordofan to the southern area, and the military holding the main city, Khartoum, the center and east along the coastal region.
The opposing sides had been allies - coming to power together in a takeover in 2021 - but split over an foreign-endorsed plan to transition to democratic governance.