In excess of 60,000 Flee Sudan's City In the wake of Capture by RSF Militia, United Nations Says
According to the UN refugee agency, in excess of 60,000 individuals have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia RSF recently.
Reports indicate summary killings and human rights violations as paramilitary forces stormed the city after an 18-month encirclement characterized by food shortages and sustained attacks.
The movement of those fleeing the violence towards the community of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had increased in the last several days, as stated by United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
Refugees were describing horrendous accounts of atrocities, featuring sexual violence, and the organization was finding it difficult to secure adequate housing and food for them.
Each child was suffering from malnutrition, she commented.
It is estimated that in excess of 150,000 residents are still stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's final stronghold in the western region of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has disputed broad claims that the deaths in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and resemble a trend of the Arab paramilitaries attacking ethnic minorities.
Yet the RSF has detained one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with extrajudicial killings.
The organization shared footage revealing the militiaman's apprehension after confirmation that he was involved in the death of several civilians near el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has acknowledged that it has removed the profile linked to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had operated the profile in his identity.
Sudan was thrown into a internal conflict in April 2023 after a brutal contest for control broke out between its army and the RSF.
It has caused a famine and claims of mass killing in the western Sudan.
More than 150,000 persons have died in the fighting across the country, and roughly 12 million have fled their residences in what the United Nations has described as the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
The seizure of el-Fasher strengthens the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of Sudan's west and significant areas of bordering Kordofan to the southern area, and the military controlling the main city, Khartoum, the center and east along the Red Sea.
The two warring rivals had been collaborators - gaining control together in a coup in 2021 - but disagreed over an globally supported initiative to transition to civilian leadership.
