More than 60,000 Run from Sudan's City After Capture by RSF Militia, United Nations States
Per the UN refugee agency, over 60,000 civilians have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was captured by the paramilitary RSF during the weekend.
Accounts suggest multiple executions and crimes against humanity as RSF fighters stormed the city after an 18-month encirclement featuring food shortages and intense shelling.
The flow of those escaping the violence towards the town of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had increased in the past few days, per United Nations refugee agency representative.
They were describing horrendous stories of violence, featuring sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was struggling to secure enough housing and supplies for them.
All children was experiencing malnutrition, she added.
Calculations indicate that over 150,000 residents are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's final bastion in the western part of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has rejected widespread allegations that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and follow a trend of the Arab militia groups focusing on non-Arab populations.
Yet the paramilitary group has custodied one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of on-the-spot executions.
The organization released footage depicting the member's arrest after confirmation that he was behind the death of several civilians near el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has confirmed that it has suspended the profile connected to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had controlled the profile in his name.
Sudan was entered a internal conflict in April 2023 after a vicious contest for control broke out between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
This has caused a famine and claims of ethnic cleansing in the western Sudan.
Over 150,000 individuals have lost their lives in the fighting around the country, and about 12 million have abandoned their dwellings in what the United Nations has described as the biggest global humanitarian disaster.
The capture of el-Fasher strengthens the geographic split in the country, with the RSF now in control of Sudan's west and significant areas of neighbouring Kordofan to the southern area, and the military occupying the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the coastal region.
The opposing sides had been collaborators - taking over together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an globally supported initiative to advance to civilian leadership.