More than 60,000 Escape Sudan's City In the wake of Seizure by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, United Nations Says
Per the UNHCR, in excess of 60,000 people have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces recently.
Accounts suggest multiple executions and crimes against humanity as RSF fighters entered the city after an 18-month encirclement featuring starvation and intense shelling.
The flow of those fleeing the violence towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the recent days, according to United Nations refugee agency representative.
They were narrating shocking stories of atrocities, such as sexual violence, and the agency was finding it difficult to find enough accommodation and supplies for them.
All children was experiencing malnutrition, she commented.
Estimates suggest that in excess of 150,000 individuals are still trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's final fortress in the western region of Darfur.
The RSF has disputed extensive allegations that the executions in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and follow a trend of the Arab paramilitaries focusing on non-Arab communities.
Nevertheless the paramilitary group has arrested one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in summary executions.
The force distributed footage revealing the militiaman's detention subsequent to verification that he was involved in the death of numerous unarmed men close to el-Fasher.
Digital platform has verified that it has suspended the profile associated with Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had operated the profile in his name.
Sudan was entered a domestic fighting in April 2023 when a brutal struggle for power broke out between its army and the RSF.
It has caused a starvation emergency and claims of genocide in the Darfur area.
More than 150,000 people have been killed in the fighting across the country, and roughly 12 million have fled their residences in what the United Nations has termed the most extensive humanitarian disaster.
The seizure of el-Fasher solidifies the geographic split in the country, with the RSF now in control of western Sudan and a large portion of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the army controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The competing factions had been collaborators - coming to power together in a takeover in 2021 - but split over an internationally backed proposal to move towards civilian leadership.