More than 60,000 Escape Sudanese City Following Seizure by RSF Militia, United Nations Reports
According to the UNHCR, more than 60,000 individuals have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia RSF recently.
Accounts suggest mass executions and human rights violations as militia members stormed the city following an 18-month encirclement marked by starvation and sustained attacks.
The flow of those running from the violence towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the last several days, per United Nations refugee agency representative.
Survivors were telling shocking tales of atrocities, such as rape, and the agency was struggling to find enough accommodation and supplies for them.
Each child was experiencing malnutrition, she noted.
Estimates suggest that over 150,000 people are presently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining fortress in the western part of Darfur.
The RSF has denied extensive claims that the deaths in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a pattern of the Arab fighters attacking non-Arab populations.
Nevertheless the paramilitary group has arrested one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of on-the-spot executions.
The force shared recordings depicting the member's arrest following confirmation that he was behind the killing of multiple unarmed men close to el-Fasher.
Social media platform has confirmed that it has suspended the channel associated with Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had controlled the account in his name.
Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 following a vicious power struggle began between its military and the RSF.
This has led to a food crisis and accusations of mass killing in the western Darfur region.
More than 150,000 individuals have lost their lives in the fighting across the country, and approximately 12 million have fled their dwellings in what the United Nations has termed the most extensive humanitarian crisis.
The capture of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in control of Sudan's west and much of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the army holding the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the coastal region.
The two warring rivals had been collaborators - coming to power together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an globally supported proposal to transition to civilian rule.