More than 60,000 Flee Sudanese City In the wake of Capture by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations Reports
According to the UNHCR, over 60,000 civilians have left the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia RSF recently.
Accounts suggest summary killings and crimes against humanity as militia members stormed the city after an extended encirclement characterized by starvation and intense shelling.
The exodus of those escaping the fighting towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the past few days, as stated by UNHCR representative.
Survivors were narrating terrible stories of atrocities, featuring rape, and the organization was having trouble to locate sufficient accommodation and supplies for them.
Every child was suffering from nutritional deficiencies, she added.
Calculations indicate that more than 150,000 residents are presently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's remaining fortress in the western part of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has disputed extensive allegations that the executions in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and follow a practice of the Arab militia groups attacking non-Arab communities.
However the paramilitary group has custodied one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of summary executions.
The group released footage depicting the fighter's arrest following confirmation that he was involved in the killing of several civilians close to el-Fasher.
Social media platform has acknowledged that it has suspended the account linked to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had managed the account in his identity.
Sudan was entered a internal conflict in April 2023 when a brutal contest for control began between its army and the Rapid Support Forces.
The conflict has resulted in a food crisis and claims of mass killing in the Darfur area.
Over 150,000 individuals have been killed in the fighting across the country, and approximately 12 million have left their residences in what the UN has described as the world's largest humanitarian disaster.
The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the geographic split in the country, with the RSF now in control of Sudan's west and a large portion of neighbouring Kordofan to the southern area, and the army holding the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the coastal region.
The competing factions had been partners - gaining control together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but fell out over an internationally backed plan to move towards civilian rule.
