In excess of 60,000 Escape Sudan's City In the wake of Seizure by RSF Militia, UN Says
According to the United Nations refugee organization, over 60,000 civilians have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces over the weekend.
There have been mass executions and crimes against humanity as paramilitary forces took control of the city following an year-and-a-half blockade characterized by food shortages and heavy bombardment.
The movement of those escaping the violence towards the community of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the recent days, per UNHCR spokesperson.
Refugees were describing terrible tales of violence, featuring rape, and the humanitarian group was finding it difficult to secure adequate housing and food for them.
Every child was experiencing malnutrition, she commented.
Calculations indicate that in excess of 150,000 residents are presently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last fortress in the western region of Darfur.
The RSF has rejected widespread accusations that the killings in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and follow a trend of the Arab militia groups targeting non-Arab populations.
Nevertheless the RSF has arrested one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of extrajudicial killings.
The force distributed recordings showing the militiaman's arrest after confirmation that he was behind the killing of multiple unarmed men near el-Fasher.
Digital platform has acknowledged that it has removed the profile connected to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had controlled the profile in his name.
Sudan was entered a civil war in April 2023 when a intense power struggle began between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
The conflict has caused a starvation emergency and claims of genocide in the western Darfur region.
Over 150,000 individuals have been killed in the conflict around the country, and roughly 12 million have left their residences in what the UN has termed the biggest global humanitarian crisis.
The seizure of el-Fasher strengthens the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in dominance of western Sudan and significant areas of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the army controlling the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the coastal region.
The competing factions had been partners - coming to power together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but fell out over an globally supported proposal to transition to democratic governance.