Over 60,000 Escape Sudanese City Following Capture by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, United Nations Says
Per the United Nations refugee organization, over 60,000 individuals have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the paramilitary RSF recently.
Accounts suggest summary killings and human rights violations as RSF fighters stormed the city after an year-and-a-half siege marked by famine and intense shelling.
The movement of those escaping the conflict towards the community of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had increased in the last several days, according to United Nations refugee agency representative.
Refugees were telling shocking tales of atrocities, including sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was finding it difficult to secure adequate accommodation and food for them.
Every child was suffering from undernourishment, she added.
It is estimated that over 150,000 people are still stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining bastion in the western region of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has rejected widespread claims that the killings in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and follow a pattern of the Arab militia groups attacking non-Arab communities.
Yet the RSF has arrested one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in summary executions.
The group released footage depicting the fighter's arrest after identification that he was behind the death of several unarmed men near el-Fasher.
Digital platform has acknowledged that it has suspended the account linked to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had controlled the profile in his name.
Sudan was entered a internal conflict in April 2023 after a vicious power struggle erupted between its army and the RSF.
The conflict has led to a starvation emergency and accusations of ethnic cleansing in the Darfur area.
More than 150,000 individuals have lost their lives in the fighting around the country, and approximately 12 million have abandoned their homes in what the UN has called the most extensive humanitarian emergency.
The capture of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of Sudan's west and a large portion of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the military occupying the main city, Khartoum, the center and east along the coastal region.
The competing factions had been partners - coming to power together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an foreign-endorsed plan to advance to civilian rule.