Over 60,000 Flee Sudanese City After Takeover by RSF Militia, United Nations Reports
As stated by the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 civilians have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia Rapid Support Forces over the weekend.
Accounts suggest mass executions and atrocities as paramilitary forces took control of the city after an 18-month encirclement characterized by food shortages and intense shelling.
The flow of those running from the violence towards the town of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the recent days, as stated by UNHCR spokesperson.
Survivors were describing horrendous stories of atrocities, including sexual violence, and the organization was having trouble to find adequate housing and food for them.
Every child was affected by undernourishment, she commented.
It is estimated that in excess of 150,000 individuals are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's final stronghold in the western region of Darfur.
The RSF has disputed broad accusations that the deaths in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a practice of the Arab paramilitaries focusing on non-Arab populations.
Yet the RSF has arrested one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with extrajudicial killings.
The group distributed recordings revealing the militiaman's arrest subsequent to confirmation that he was responsible for the death of several civilians close to el-Fasher.
Digital platform has confirmed that it has banned the channel linked to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had controlled the account in his identity.
Sudan was entered a domestic fighting in April 2023 when a vicious contest for control erupted between its army and the RSF.
This has resulted in a starvation emergency and claims of mass killing in the western Darfur region.
More than 150,000 individuals have lost their lives in the war throughout the country, and roughly 12 million have abandoned their residences in what the UN has termed the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
The capture of el-Fasher reinforces 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 controlling the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The two warring rivals had been collaborators - taking over together in a coup in 2021 - but disagreed over an foreign-endorsed proposal to move towards civilian leadership.