Over 60,000 Run from Sudanese City After Capture by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, UN Says
According to the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 individuals have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.
Reports indicate summary killings and atrocities as militia members entered the city after an extended blockade featuring food shortages and sustained attacks.
The flow of those fleeing the fighting towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had increased in the last several days, as stated by UNHCR representative.
Survivors were describing horrendous accounts of violence, such as rape, and the organization was struggling to locate adequate housing and nourishment for them.
All children was suffering from nutritional deficiencies, she commented.
Calculations indicate that more than 150,000 individuals are still trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the military's final stronghold in the western part of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has denied widespread claims that the deaths in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and resemble a trend of the Arab militia groups targeting non-Arab populations.
Nevertheless the paramilitary group has detained one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of on-the-spot executions.
The organization distributed footage showing the fighter's detention following identification that he was involved in the execution of several unarmed men near el-Fasher.
Social media platform has confirmed that it has removed the channel connected to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had controlled the account in his identity.
Sudan was entered a domestic fighting in April 2023 following a vicious struggle for power broke out between its army and the Rapid Support Forces.
This has caused a starvation emergency and allegations of ethnic cleansing in the western Darfur region.
In excess of 150,000 individuals have been killed in the war around the country, and approximately 12 million have fled their homes in what the UN has described as the biggest global humanitarian crisis.
The capture of el-Fasher solidifies the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in control of the western region and much of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the military controlling the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea.
The competing factions had been collaborators - taking over together in a coup in 2021 - but disagreed over an foreign-endorsed initiative to advance to civilian leadership.