Over 60,000 Flee Sudanese City In the wake of Takeover by RSF Paramilitary Group, United Nations Says
As stated by the UNHCR, over 60,000 individuals have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia RSF during the weekend.
Accounts suggest mass executions and human rights violations as RSF fighters stormed the city following an extended blockade featuring food shortages and intense shelling.
The flow of those escaping the conflict towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the recent days, according to United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
They were narrating shocking stories of abuses, featuring rape, and the organization was finding it difficult to locate enough housing and nourishment for them.
Every child was suffering from malnutrition, she noted.
Estimates suggest that in excess of 150,000 residents are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last bastion in the western part of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has disputed extensive claims that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a pattern of the Arab fighters attacking non-Arab communities.
Yet the paramilitary group has arrested one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in extrajudicial killings.
The group released footage revealing the militiaman's apprehension following identification that he was responsible for the death of multiple unarmed men in the vicinity of el-Fasher.
Digital platform has confirmed that it has suspended the channel linked to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had operated the account in his identity.
Sudan was entered a internal conflict in April 2023 following a vicious contest for control erupted between its military and the RSF.
It has resulted in a starvation emergency and accusations of ethnic cleansing in the western Darfur region.
In excess of 150,000 people have been killed in the fighting across the country, and roughly 12 million have fled their homes in what the United Nations has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
The seizure of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in control of western Sudan and much of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the army occupying the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The two warring rivals had been partners - coming to power together in a coup in 2021 - but split over an globally supported proposal to advance to democratic governance.
