Over 60,000 Run from Sudanese City Following Seizure by RSF Paramilitary Group, United Nations Reports
As stated by the United Nations refugee organization, in excess of 60,000 people have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces over the weekend.
Reports indicate summary killings and atrocities as paramilitary forces stormed the city after an extended siege marked by famine and intense shelling.
The flow of those escaping the fighting towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the recent days, as stated by United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
Refugees were describing horrendous accounts of abuses, including rape, and the agency was struggling to locate adequate shelter and nourishment for them.
Every child was suffering from undernourishment, she noted.
It is estimated that more than 150,000 residents are still unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the army's final fortress in the western part of Darfur.
The RSF has rejected widespread accusations that the deaths in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and resemble a practice of the Arab fighters targeting non-Arab populations.
However the RSF has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of summary executions.
The group distributed video showing the member's detention subsequent to confirmation that he was responsible for the killing of several unarmed men near el-Fasher.
Digital platform has confirmed that it has suspended the account linked to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had managed the account in his name.
Sudan was entered a domestic fighting in April 2023 following a vicious power struggle erupted between its army and the RSF.
It has resulted in a starvation emergency and allegations of genocide in the western Sudan.
More than 150,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict across the country, and approximately 12 million have abandoned their residences in what the UN has called the most extensive humanitarian emergency.
The capture of el-Fasher solidifies the regional separation in the country, with the RSF now in command of Sudan's west and a large portion of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the army controlling the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea.
The competing factions had been collaborators - taking over together in a takeover in 2021 - but fell out over an globally supported initiative to advance to civilian rule.