In excess of 60,000 Flee Sudanese City After Seizure by RSF Militia, UN States
According to the United Nations refugee organization, over 60,000 civilians have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary RSF during the weekend.
Accounts suggest multiple executions and human rights violations as paramilitary forces entered the city following an year-and-a-half siege marked by starvation and heavy bombardment.
The flow of those escaping the fighting towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the last several days, as stated by United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
They were telling horrendous tales of violence, including rape, and the organization was struggling to find adequate accommodation and supplies for them.
Every child was suffering from undernourishment, she commented.
Calculations indicate that over 150,000 individuals are still trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining bastion in the western part of Darfur.
The RSF has disputed widespread claims that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a pattern of the Arab militia groups attacking non-Arab communities.
However the paramilitary group has detained one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of on-the-spot executions.
The organization shared footage depicting the fighter's detention after confirmation that he was behind the killing of several non-combatants close to el-Fasher.
Social media platform has verified that it has removed the channel associated with Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had controlled the profile in his name.
Sudan was entered a domestic fighting in April 2023 after a brutal power struggle erupted between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
The conflict has resulted in a famine and claims of ethnic cleansing in the western Sudan.
More than 150,000 people have died in the conflict throughout the country, and approximately 12 million have left their residences in what the United Nations has termed the most extensive humanitarian emergency.
The seizure of el-Fasher strengthens the regional separation in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of the western region and much of adjacent Kordofan to the southern area, and the military occupying the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the coastal region.
The two warring rivals had been partners - gaining control together in a coup in 2021 - but disagreed over an globally supported proposal to move towards civilian leadership.
