Over 60,000 Escape Sudanese City After Capture by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations States

Displaced people escaping violence in the region
Many are trying to reach the settlement of Tawila but face intimidation, demands for money and mistreatment from fighters along the way

Per the UNHCR, in excess of 60,000 individuals have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the paramilitary RSF over the weekend.

Accounts suggest mass executions and human rights violations as paramilitary forces entered the city following an 18-month blockade featuring starvation and sustained attacks.

The movement of those fleeing the fighting towards the town of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the past few days, as stated by UNHCR representative.

They were narrating terrible stories of abuses, such as sexual violence, and the agency was having trouble to find adequate housing and food for them.

All children was affected by nutritional deficiencies, she noted.

Estimates suggest that in excess of 150,000 people are presently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's remaining bastion in the western part of Darfur.

The RSF has disputed broad accusations that the killings in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a pattern of the Arab fighters targeting ethnic minorities.

Nevertheless the RSF has custodied one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in on-the-spot executions.

The force distributed recordings depicting the militiaman's apprehension following verification that he was responsible for the execution of numerous civilians close to el-Fasher.

Social media platform has verified 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 domestic fighting in April 2023 when a brutal struggle for power erupted between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.

The conflict has led to a starvation emergency and claims of genocide in the Darfur area.

More than 150,000 persons have died in the fighting throughout the country, and about 12 million have fled their homes in what the UN has called the most extensive humanitarian crisis.

The capture of el-Fasher solidifies the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in dominance of Sudan's west and significant areas of adjacent Kordofan to the southern area, and the military controlling the main city, Khartoum, the center and east along the Red Sea.

The competing factions had been allies - taking over together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an globally supported initiative to move towards democratic governance.

Amber Rosario
Amber Rosario

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