More than 60,000 Run from Sudanese City In the wake of Takeover by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, UN Says
According to the UNHCR, more than 60,000 people have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia RSF recently.
Accounts suggest mass executions and atrocities as paramilitary forces stormed the city after an extended siege featuring famine and sustained attacks.
The flow of those escaping the conflict towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the recent days, according to United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
Survivors were telling shocking accounts of abuses, such as rape, and the humanitarian group was struggling to locate adequate shelter and food for them.
Every child was suffering from undernourishment, she added.
Estimates suggest that in excess of 150,000 individuals are currently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's remaining bastion in the western region of Darfur.
The RSF has disputed extensive allegations that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a trend of the Arab militia groups focusing on non-Arab communities.
However the paramilitary group has arrested one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in summary executions.
The group shared video depicting the member's apprehension after identification that he was involved in the killing of numerous unarmed men close to el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has confirmed that it has banned the account connected to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had controlled the profile in his name.
Sudan was entered a civil war in April 2023 when a intense contest for control broke out between its military and the RSF.
This has resulted in a famine and accusations of genocide in the Darfur area.
Over 150,000 people have been killed in the fighting throughout the country, and approximately 12 million have left their dwellings in what the United Nations has called the biggest global humanitarian crisis.
The seizure of el-Fasher solidifies the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in dominance of Sudan's west and a large portion of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the army controlling the main city, Khartoum, the center and east along the Red Sea.
The two warring rivals had been collaborators - taking over together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an internationally backed initiative to transition to democratic governance.
