In excess of 60,000 Escape Sudanese City In the wake of Takeover by Rapid Support Forces Militia, UN Says
According to the UN refugee agency, more than 60,000 people have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.
Accounts suggest mass executions and atrocities as RSF fighters stormed the city after an year-and-a-half blockade marked by starvation and heavy bombardment.
The flow of those escaping the violence towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the last several days, according to UNHCR spokesperson.
They were telling terrible stories of violence, such as sexual violence, and the agency was having trouble to find enough accommodation and supplies for them.
Every child was affected by malnutrition, she added.
Estimates suggest that more than 150,000 people are still trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last fortress in the western part of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has rejected broad accusations that the deaths in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and follow a pattern of the Arab paramilitaries targeting non-Arab communities.
Yet the RSF has custodied one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of extrajudicial killings.
The force shared recordings revealing the fighter's arrest after verification that he was responsible for the death of multiple civilians close to el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has confirmed that it has removed the channel linked to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had controlled the profile in his identity.
Sudan was thrown into a domestic fighting in April 2023 following a intense power struggle began between its military and the RSF.
This has caused a food crisis and claims of genocide in the western Darfur region.
More than 150,000 individuals have been killed in the war around the country, and approximately 12 million have abandoned their dwellings in what the United Nations has termed the biggest global humanitarian crisis.
The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of western Sudan and significant areas of adjacent Kordofan to the southern area, and the military holding the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The two warring rivals had been partners - gaining control together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an internationally backed plan to transition to democratic governance.
