More than 60,000 Run from Sudan's City In the wake of Capture by RSF Militia, UN Reports
Per the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 people have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary RSF over the weekend.
Reports indicate mass executions and atrocities as paramilitary forces entered the city after an 18-month encirclement marked by starvation and sustained attacks.
The exodus of those escaping the violence towards the town of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the last several days, per UNHCR representative.
Refugees were narrating shocking stories of violence, including sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was struggling to find sufficient shelter and supplies for them.
Each child was affected by nutritional deficiencies, she added.
Estimates suggest that in excess of 150,000 individuals are still stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's final fortress in the western region of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has disputed extensive allegations that the killings in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a pattern of the Arab paramilitaries attacking non-Arab populations.
Nevertheless the RSF has arrested one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of summary executions.
The group shared video revealing the militiaman's apprehension after confirmation that he was behind the death of several unarmed men close to el-Fasher.
Digital platform has acknowledged that it has removed the account linked to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had operated the account in his identity.
Sudan was thrown into a internal conflict in April 2023 after a intense power struggle began between its military and the RSF.
This has resulted in a famine and claims of genocide in the Darfur area.
Over 150,000 people have been killed in the fighting around the country, and approximately 12 million have abandoned their dwellings in what the United Nations has called the biggest global humanitarian disaster.
The takeover of el-Fasher reinforces the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of Sudan's west and much of bordering Kordofan to the southern area, and the military controlling the main city, Khartoum, the center and east along the coastal region.
The two warring rivals had been partners - taking over together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an internationally backed plan to transition to civilian leadership.
