In excess of 60,000 Run from Sudanese City After Capture by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, United Nations Says
As stated by the UN refugee agency, more than 60,000 people have left the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was captured by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces recently.
Reports indicate mass executions and human rights violations as RSF fighters stormed the city after an 18-month encirclement featuring famine and heavy bombardment.
The exodus of those escaping the violence towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the recent days, as stated by United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
Survivors were describing shocking stories of violence, including rape, and the agency was struggling to find sufficient shelter and nourishment for them.
Each child was suffering from malnutrition, she noted.
Calculations indicate that over 150,000 individuals are presently unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the army's final bastion in the western part of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has denied broad allegations that the killings in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and follow a trend of the Arab militia groups focusing on non-Arab populations.
However the RSF has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with summary executions.
The force distributed footage depicting the fighter's detention following confirmation that he was behind the killing of numerous unarmed men in the vicinity of el-Fasher.
Digital platform has confirmed that it has removed the profile associated with Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had managed the profile in his name.
Sudan was thrown into a internal conflict in April 2023 after a vicious power struggle broke out between its army and the RSF.
It has resulted in a food crisis and allegations of genocide in the western Sudan.
In excess of 150,000 individuals have been killed in the conflict throughout the country, and about 12 million have left their dwellings in what the UN has termed the most extensive humanitarian crisis.
The capture of el-Fasher solidifies the geographic split in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of Sudan's west 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 competing factions had been allies - taking over together in a coup in 2021 - but split over an internationally backed initiative to move towards democratic governance.