More than 60,000 Flee Sudanese City In the wake of Capture by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations Says
Per the UNHCR, in excess of 60,000 civilians have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was captured by the militia RSF recently.
Reports indicate mass executions and human rights violations as paramilitary forces entered the city after an extended encirclement marked by food shortages and intense shelling.
The flow of those fleeing the violence towards the town of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the recent days, as stated by United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
Survivors were telling terrible tales of violence, featuring sexual violence, and the organization was having trouble to secure sufficient shelter and supplies for them.
All children was affected by nutritional deficiencies, she added.
It is estimated that in excess of 150,000 residents are still stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining stronghold in the western part of Darfur.
The RSF has denied extensive allegations that the deaths in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and follow a pattern of the Arab paramilitaries targeting non-Arab communities.
Nevertheless the paramilitary group has detained one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with extrajudicial killings.
The force released video revealing the militiaman's detention after confirmation that he was responsible for the death of numerous non-combatants close to el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has confirmed that it has removed the profile connected to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had controlled the account in his identity.
Sudan was plunged into a domestic fighting in April 2023 after a brutal power struggle broke out between its military and the RSF.
This has resulted in a starvation emergency and accusations of ethnic cleansing in the western Sudan.
Over 150,000 persons have been killed in the war throughout the country, and approximately 12 million have fled their homes in what the United Nations 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 command of Sudan's west and a large portion of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the military controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea.
The two warring rivals had been collaborators - gaining control together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an internationally backed plan to advance to democratic governance.
