More than 60,000 Run from Sudanese City After Capture by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations Reports

Displaced people escaping violence in Sudan
Numerous are attempting to reach the town of Tawila but experience harassment, demands for money and mistreatment from militiamen during their journey

As stated by the UN refugee agency, in excess of 60,000 people have left the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.

Reports indicate multiple executions and human rights violations as RSF fighters stormed the city following an 18-month siege characterized by famine and sustained attacks.

The flow of those escaping the fighting towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the recent days, as stated by UNHCR representative.

Survivors were telling terrible stories of abuses, featuring rape, and the organization was finding it difficult to secure sufficient housing and supplies for them.

Every child was suffering from malnutrition, she added.

It is estimated that over 150,000 individuals are still unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining bastion in the western part of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has rejected widespread accusations that the killings in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and resemble a trend of the Arab militia groups targeting non-Arab populations.

Yet the paramilitary group has arrested one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with on-the-spot executions.

The organization distributed recordings depicting the militiaman's apprehension subsequent to identification that he was involved in the killing of multiple unarmed men in the vicinity of el-Fasher.

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

Sudan was thrown into a civil war in April 2023 after a vicious power struggle broke out between its military and the RSF.

The conflict has caused a famine and claims of ethnic cleansing in the western Sudan.

More than 150,000 people have lost their lives in the war throughout the country, and about 12 million have left their residences in what the UN has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

The capture of el-Fasher strengthens the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in control of Sudan's west and a large portion of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the military holding the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.

The competing factions had been partners - coming to power together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an foreign-endorsed plan to advance to civilian rule.

Maria Jackson
Maria Jackson

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