Over 60,000 Escape Sudanese City In the wake of Takeover by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, UN Says
Per the UNHCR, in excess of 60,000 individuals have left the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.
Reports indicate mass executions and human rights violations as militia members stormed the city after an year-and-a-half blockade featuring food shortages and intense shelling.
The flow of those escaping the conflict towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the past few days, as stated by United Nations refugee agency representative.
They were telling shocking stories of atrocities, such as sexual violence, and the agency was finding it difficult to locate enough housing and food for them.
Every child was experiencing nutritional deficiencies, she noted.
Calculations indicate that more than 150,000 individuals are still unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the army's final fortress in the western part of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has rejected extensive claims that the executions in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and follow a practice of the Arab paramilitaries focusing on non-Arab communities.
Yet the paramilitary group has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of extrajudicial killings.
The organization distributed recordings depicting the fighter's arrest subsequent to identification that he was involved in the death of numerous civilians in the vicinity of el-Fasher.
Social media platform has verified that it has suspended the channel associated with Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had operated the account in his name.
Sudan was entered a internal conflict in April 2023 when a vicious contest for control erupted between its army and the Rapid Support Forces.
This has led to a starvation emergency and claims of ethnic cleansing in the western Sudan.
More than 150,000 persons have died in the war throughout the country, and about 12 million have fled their homes in what the United Nations has described as the most extensive humanitarian emergency.
The capture of el-Fasher solidifies the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of the western region and much of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the military occupying the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The opposing sides had been partners - gaining control together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an internationally backed initiative to move towards civilian rule.