More than 60,000 Run from Sudanese City Following Takeover by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, UN States
Per the United Nations refugee organization, in excess of 60,000 civilians have escaped the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary RSF during the weekend.
Accounts suggest mass executions and crimes against humanity as paramilitary forces entered the city after an 18-month blockade characterized by food shortages and heavy bombardment.
The flow of those running from the fighting towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had increased in the last several days, according to UNHCR representative.
Survivors were narrating terrible accounts of violence, such as rape, and the humanitarian group was struggling to secure adequate housing and supplies for them.
Every child was suffering from undernourishment, she noted.
Calculations indicate that more than 150,000 residents are still unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the army's final stronghold in the western part of Darfur.
The RSF has rejected extensive claims that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and resemble a trend of the Arab fighters focusing on non-Arab populations.
Nevertheless the RSF has arrested one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of summary executions.
The force distributed video revealing the militiaman's arrest following identification that he was involved in the killing of multiple unarmed men in the vicinity of el-Fasher.
Digital platform has confirmed that it has removed the channel connected to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had managed the account in his identity.
Sudan was entered a domestic fighting in April 2023 when a brutal power struggle began between its army and the RSF.
This has caused a food crisis and claims of mass killing in the western Sudan.
Over 150,000 persons have been killed in the conflict around the country, and roughly 12 million have left their homes in what the UN has called the most extensive humanitarian crisis.
The takeover of el-Fasher reinforces the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of western Sudan and significant areas of bordering Kordofan to the southern area, and the military controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea.
The competing factions had been allies - coming to power together in a takeover in 2021 - but fell out over an globally supported proposal to move towards civilian leadership.