More than 60,000 Escape Sudan's City Following Takeover by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, United Nations Says

Refugees escaping conflict in the region
Numerous seek to get to the town of Tawila but face harassment, demands for money and abuse from fighters along the way

According to the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 civilians have fled the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was captured by the paramilitary RSF over the weekend.

Reports indicate multiple executions and atrocities as militia members stormed the city after an year-and-a-half siege characterized by famine and intense shelling.

The exodus of those running from the fighting towards the town of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the past few days, according to UNHCR spokesperson.

They were telling horrendous accounts of atrocities, including rape, and the organization was having trouble to secure adequate shelter and nourishment for them.

Each child was suffering from malnutrition, she noted.

Calculations indicate that more than 150,000 residents are still trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last bastion in the western region of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has denied extensive allegations that the executions in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and resemble a pattern of the Arab fighters targeting ethnic minorities.

Yet the paramilitary group has custodied one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with extrajudicial killings.

The force shared recordings revealing the fighter's arrest subsequent to identification that he was involved in the death of multiple non-combatants close to el-Fasher.

Social media platform has verified that it has removed the channel connected to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had managed the account in his identity.

Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 after a intense contest for control broke out between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.

The conflict has led to a starvation emergency and accusations of mass killing in the western Sudan.

In excess of 150,000 people have died in the conflict throughout the country, and roughly 12 million have fled their dwellings in what the UN has described as the world's largest humanitarian emergency.

The seizure of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in dominance of western Sudan and significant areas of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the army controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea.

The two warring rivals had been collaborators - taking over together in a takeover in 2021 - but disagreed over an foreign-endorsed proposal to move towards democratic governance.

Jesus Moses
Jesus Moses

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