More than 60,000 Escape Sudanese City In the wake of Seizure by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations States
Per the UN refugee agency, in excess of 60,000 people have escaped the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was captured by the militia Rapid Support Forces recently.
There have been summary killings and atrocities as militia members took control of the city after an extended blockade marked by starvation and intense shelling.
The flow of those escaping the violence towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the recent days, according to UNHCR spokesperson.
They were narrating terrible stories of atrocities, including rape, and the agency was struggling to find adequate shelter and food for them.
Every child was affected by malnutrition, she commented.
Calculations indicate that more than 150,000 residents are currently unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's final fortress in the western region of Darfur.
The RSF has disputed widespread claims that the deaths in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and follow a practice of the Arab fighters focusing on non-Arab populations.
Nevertheless the RSF has custodied one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with extrajudicial killings.
The force shared recordings depicting the fighter's detention subsequent to identification that he was responsible for the execution of multiple non-combatants close to el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has acknowledged that it has suspended the channel connected to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had operated the profile in his identity.
Sudan was thrown into a civil war in April 2023 after a vicious struggle for power erupted between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
This has caused a famine and allegations of genocide in the Darfur area.
In excess of 150,000 individuals have been killed in the conflict across the country, and about 12 million have left their dwellings in what the United Nations has called the world's largest humanitarian disaster.
The takeover of el-Fasher solidifies the geographic split in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of western Sudan and much of neighbouring Kordofan to the southern area, and the army occupying the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the Red Sea.
The competing factions had been allies - gaining control together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an foreign-endorsed initiative to transition to democratic governance.