More than 60,000 Flee Sudan's City Following Takeover by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations Reports
According to the UNHCR, more than 60,000 individuals have left the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia RSF over the weekend.
Reports indicate mass executions and human rights violations as militia members took control of the city following an extended siege marked by famine and heavy bombardment.
The exodus of those fleeing the violence towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the recent days, as stated by UNHCR spokesperson.
They were narrating terrible tales of abuses, featuring rape, and the humanitarian group was finding it difficult to secure adequate housing and food for them.
Each child was experiencing undernourishment, she commented.
Estimates suggest that over 150,000 individuals are presently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last fortress in the western part of Darfur.
The RSF has denied extensive claims that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a practice of the Arab paramilitaries focusing on non-Arab populations.
Yet the paramilitary group has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of on-the-spot executions.
The organization shared recordings depicting the fighter's arrest subsequent to confirmation that he was behind the execution of multiple civilians near el-Fasher.
Social media platform has verified that it has suspended the channel associated with Lulu. It is not clear whether he had controlled the account in his identity.
Sudan was thrown into a civil war in April 2023 when a vicious struggle for power broke out between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
The conflict has led to a food crisis and allegations of mass killing in the Darfur area.
In excess of 150,000 persons have been killed in the conflict around the country, and roughly 12 million have abandoned their residences in what the United Nations has termed the most extensive humanitarian emergency.
The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of the western region and a large portion of adjacent Kordofan to the southern area, and the military holding the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The opposing sides had been collaborators - taking over together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but fell out over an foreign-endorsed proposal to advance to civilian leadership.