In excess of 60,000 Flee Sudanese City Following Takeover by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, UN Reports
As stated by the United Nations refugee organization, over 60,000 civilians have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces over the weekend.
There have been summary killings and human rights violations as paramilitary forces took control of the city following an extended blockade characterized by food shortages and sustained attacks.
The flow of those running from the conflict towards the community of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the last several days, as stated by United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
Refugees were describing terrible tales of violence, including sexual violence, and the organization was finding it difficult to locate enough accommodation and food for them.
Each child was experiencing malnutrition, she added.
Estimates suggest that more than 150,000 people are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last fortress in the western region of Darfur.
The RSF has denied broad claims that the killings in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and resemble a pattern of the Arab paramilitaries focusing on non-Arab populations.
Nevertheless the RSF has detained one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of extrajudicial killings.
The force shared recordings depicting the militiaman's arrest after confirmation that he was behind the death of numerous non-combatants near el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has acknowledged that it has suspended the profile linked to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had controlled the account in his name.
Sudan was entered a civil war in April 2023 after a vicious power struggle erupted between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
The conflict has led to a famine and allegations of genocide in the western Darfur region.
Over 150,000 persons have lost their lives in the conflict across the country, and approximately 12 million have fled their homes in what the United Nations has described as the world's largest humanitarian emergency.
The takeover of el-Fasher solidifies the regional separation in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of the western region and a large portion of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the military occupying the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea.
The competing factions had been allies - taking over together in a takeover in 2021 - but fell out over an foreign-endorsed plan to advance to civilian rule.
