Over 60,000 Escape Sudanese City After Capture by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, UN States
Per the UNHCR, over 60,000 civilians have fled the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia Rapid Support Forces over the weekend.
Reports indicate multiple executions and crimes against humanity as RSF fighters entered the city after an extended blockade characterized by food shortages and intense shelling.
The exodus of those running from the conflict towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the last several days, per UNHCR spokesperson.
Survivors were describing shocking accounts of violence, including rape, and the organization was struggling to secure adequate accommodation and food for them.
Each child was affected by undernourishment, she added.
Calculations indicate that in excess of 150,000 residents are presently unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's final stronghold in the western region of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has denied widespread allegations that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and follow a trend of the Arab militia groups attacking ethnic minorities.
Yet the RSF has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in summary executions.
The group released footage revealing the member's apprehension following identification that he was behind the execution of several civilians near el-Fasher.
Digital platform has acknowledged that it has suspended the channel associated with Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had controlled the profile in his identity.
Sudan was entered a domestic fighting in April 2023 after a brutal power struggle began between its military and the RSF.
The conflict has led to a famine and claims of ethnic cleansing in the western Darfur region.
More than 150,000 individuals have died in the conflict throughout the country, and roughly 12 million have abandoned their homes in what the UN has described as the world's largest humanitarian disaster.
The seizure of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of Sudan's west and a large portion of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the army occupying the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the coastal region.
The two warring rivals had been collaborators - gaining control together in a takeover in 2021 - but split over an internationally backed proposal to advance to civilian leadership.
