More than 60,000 Flee Sudan's City In the wake of Capture by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations States
Per the UNHCR, over 60,000 individuals have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia RSF over the weekend.
Reports indicate mass executions and human rights violations as RSF fighters stormed the city after an year-and-a-half encirclement characterized by starvation and intense shelling.
The exodus of those running from the fighting towards the town of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the last several days, as stated by United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
Survivors were narrating horrendous stories of abuses, including sexual violence, and the organization was struggling to locate enough shelter and food for them.
All children was experiencing malnutrition, she added.
Calculations indicate that more than 150,000 residents are presently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last bastion in the western region of Darfur.
The RSF has disputed widespread claims that the executions in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and follow a pattern of the Arab fighters attacking ethnic minorities.
However the RSF has arrested one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with summary executions.
The group released video depicting the militiaman's arrest following identification that he was involved in the execution of multiple non-combatants near el-Fasher.
Social media platform has verified that it has banned the account linked to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had managed the profile in his name.
Sudan was thrown into a domestic fighting in April 2023 when a vicious contest for control broke out between its army and the Rapid Support Forces.
The conflict has resulted in a food crisis and allegations of ethnic cleansing in the western Sudan.
More than 150,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict throughout the country, and roughly 12 million have abandoned their residences in what the UN has termed the world's largest humanitarian disaster.
The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the geographic split in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in dominance of Sudan's west and much of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the army occupying the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the Red Sea.
The two warring rivals had been collaborators - gaining control together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but fell out over an foreign-endorsed plan to transition to civilian leadership.
