In excess of 60,000 Flee Sudan's City After Capture by Rapid Support Forces Militia, UN Says
Per the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 people have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia Rapid Support Forces recently.
Accounts suggest summary killings and human rights violations as paramilitary forces entered the city following an 18-month encirclement featuring starvation and sustained attacks.
The flow of those escaping the violence towards the town of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the recent days, according to UNHCR representative.
They were narrating shocking tales of violence, featuring sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was struggling to find sufficient housing and food for them.
All children was affected by undernourishment, she noted.
Calculations indicate that over 150,000 individuals are still trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the military's final stronghold in the western part of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has denied broad claims that the executions in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a pattern of the Arab paramilitaries focusing on ethnic minorities.
However the RSF has custodied one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of summary executions.
The group distributed video revealing the member's apprehension following verification that he was responsible for the killing of several non-combatants in the vicinity of el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has acknowledged that it has removed the channel linked to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had controlled the account in his identity.
Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 following a brutal struggle for power began between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
It has led to a food crisis and claims of genocide in the western Darfur region.
In excess of 150,000 individuals have been killed in the war throughout the country, and approximately 12 million have left their dwellings in what the UN has termed the biggest global humanitarian disaster.
The seizure of el-Fasher strengthens the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of the western region and significant areas of bordering Kordofan to the southern area, and the army controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea.
The competing factions had been partners - taking over together in a takeover in 2021 - but fell out over an globally supported initiative to transition to civilian rule.
