In excess of 60,000 Escape Sudanese City Following Capture by RSF Paramilitary Group, United Nations States
Per the United Nations refugee organization, in excess of 60,000 individuals have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the paramilitary RSF during the weekend.
Reports indicate multiple executions and atrocities as militia members entered the city following an 18-month siege characterized by food shortages and intense shelling.
The exodus of those escaping the fighting towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the past few days, per United Nations refugee agency representative.
They were describing terrible accounts of atrocities, including sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was finding it difficult to locate adequate accommodation and nourishment for them.
Each child was experiencing malnutrition, she added.
Estimates suggest that over 150,000 individuals are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's remaining fortress in the western region of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has rejected extensive accusations that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and follow a trend of the Arab militia groups targeting non-Arab communities.
Nevertheless the RSF has arrested one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of on-the-spot executions.
The group distributed recordings showing the militiaman's arrest following confirmation that he was behind the killing of several civilians in the vicinity of el-Fasher.
Social media platform has verified that it has suspended the account connected to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had controlled the profile in his identity.
Sudan was entered a internal conflict in April 2023 following a vicious struggle for power began between its military and the RSF.
It has caused a food crisis and accusations of ethnic cleansing in the western Darfur region.
Over 150,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict across the country, and about 12 million have left their dwellings in what the UN has called the most extensive humanitarian disaster.
The capture of el-Fasher solidifies the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of Sudan's west and a large portion of bordering Kordofan to the southern area, and the army controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The two warring rivals had been collaborators - gaining control together in a coup in 2021 - but fell out over an internationally backed proposal to transition to civilian leadership.