More than 60,000 Escape Sudan's City In the wake of Seizure by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations Says
According to the UNHCR, in excess of 60,000 civilians have fled the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia Rapid Support Forces recently.
There have been summary killings and crimes against humanity as militia members entered the city following an extended blockade featuring food shortages and heavy bombardment.
The movement of those escaping the conflict towards the community of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the last several days, according to United Nations refugee agency representative.
Refugees were describing terrible tales of violence, including sexual violence, and the agency was finding it difficult to locate enough housing and food for them.
Each child was experiencing undernourishment, she noted.
It is estimated that over 150,000 individuals are presently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last stronghold in the western part of Darfur.
The RSF has rejected broad accusations that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a pattern of the Arab paramilitaries targeting non-Arab populations.
Nevertheless the paramilitary group has arrested one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in on-the-spot executions.
The force released footage showing the member's arrest after verification that he was involved in the execution of multiple non-combatants close to el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has verified that it has suspended the channel connected to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had operated the profile in his identity.
Sudan was entered a domestic fighting in April 2023 when a brutal power struggle began between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
This has led to a food crisis and allegations of mass killing in the western Sudan.
More than 150,000 people have been killed in the fighting throughout the country, and approximately 12 million have left their dwellings in what the United Nations has described as the most extensive humanitarian disaster.
The seizure of el-Fasher solidifies the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of the western region and much of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the military holding the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the coastal region.
The competing factions had been allies - gaining control together in a takeover in 2021 - but split over an globally supported initiative to move towards civilian rule.
