Over 60,000 Flee Sudan's City Following Capture by RSF Militia, United Nations Says

Per the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 people have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces recently.

Reports indicate mass executions and human rights violations as paramilitary forces stormed the city after an extended siege characterized by famine and intense shelling.

The movement of those escaping the violence towards the town of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the recent days, according to United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.

Refugees were narrating horrendous stories of atrocities, such as sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was struggling to find adequate housing and supplies for them.

Every child was affected by undernourishment, she commented.

It is estimated that in excess of 150,000 individuals are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's final stronghold in the western part of Darfur.

The RSF has disputed broad claims that the killings in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a practice of the Arab fighters focusing on non-Arab populations.

However the RSF has custodied one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with extrajudicial killings.

The organization released footage showing the member's arrest following confirmation that he was responsible for the killing of numerous civilians in the vicinity of el-Fasher.

Video sharing service has acknowledged that it has banned the profile connected to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had controlled the account in his name.

Sudan was thrown into a civil war in April 2023 after a vicious contest for control broke out between its army and the RSF.

It has resulted in a starvation emergency and allegations of ethnic cleansing in the western Sudan.

More than 150,000 people have died in the war throughout the country, and roughly 12 million have left their homes in what the UN has called the world's largest humanitarian disaster.

The takeover of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of the western region and a large portion of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the army holding the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the coastal region.

The competing factions had been collaborators - taking over together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an internationally backed plan to transition to civilian leadership.