In excess of 60,000 Escape Sudanese City In the wake of Seizure by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations States
As stated by the United Nations refugee organization, in excess of 60,000 civilians have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was captured by the militia Rapid Support Forces recently.
Reports indicate summary killings and atrocities as militia members entered the city following an year-and-a-half encirclement characterized by famine and sustained attacks.
The flow of those fleeing the fighting towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the last several days, according to UNHCR representative.
Refugees were describing terrible tales of abuses, such as rape, and the agency was struggling to locate sufficient housing and nourishment for them.
Each child was affected by nutritional deficiencies, she noted.
It is estimated that more than 150,000 people are currently unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last bastion in the western part of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has denied extensive accusations that the killings in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a practice of the Arab paramilitaries focusing on non-Arab communities.
However the paramilitary group has arrested one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with extrajudicial killings.
The force shared video revealing the member's detention following confirmation that he was behind the death of several civilians near el-Fasher.
Digital platform has acknowledged that it has banned the account linked to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had controlled the account in his identity.
Sudan was entered a civil war in April 2023 following a vicious power struggle broke out between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
It has resulted in a famine and claims of genocide in the western Darfur region.
More than 150,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict around the country, and approximately 12 million have abandoned their homes in what the UN has termed the world's largest 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 significant areas of bordering Kordofan to the southern area, and the military holding the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea.
The opposing sides had been partners - taking over together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an globally supported proposal to transition to civilian leadership.