Over 60,000 Flee Sudan's City Following Seizure by RSF Paramilitary Group, UN Says
Per the United Nations refugee organization, over 60,000 civilians have escaped the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia RSF over the weekend.
There have been mass executions and human rights violations as militia members entered the city after an year-and-a-half encirclement featuring famine and intense shelling.
The exodus of those escaping the fighting towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the recent days, per UNHCR representative.
Refugees were narrating horrendous tales of violence, including sexual violence, and the agency was having trouble to secure adequate accommodation and nourishment for them.
Each child was experiencing nutritional deficiencies, she commented.
Calculations indicate that more than 150,000 residents are presently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the military's final stronghold in the western region of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has rejected extensive allegations that the deaths in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and resemble a practice of the Arab militia groups attacking non-Arab populations.
Yet the paramilitary group has arrested one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with summary executions.
The force shared recordings revealing the fighter's apprehension following identification that he was responsible for the execution of numerous non-combatants near el-Fasher.
Digital platform has confirmed that it has suspended the account connected to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had controlled the profile in his name.
Sudan was thrown into a civil war in April 2023 after a brutal struggle for power broke out between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
This has caused a starvation emergency and allegations of genocide in the western Darfur region.
In excess of 150,000 people have been killed in the conflict across the country, and about 12 million have left their homes in what the United Nations has termed the biggest global humanitarian emergency.
The capture of el-Fasher reinforces the geographic split in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of Sudan's west and significant areas of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the military occupying the main city, Khartoum, the center and east along the Red Sea.
The two warring rivals had been collaborators - coming to power together in a coup in 2021 - but split over an foreign-endorsed plan to move towards civilian leadership.
