In excess of 60,000 Escape Sudanese City After Takeover by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations States
According to the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 individuals have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia Rapid Support Forces recently.
There have been multiple executions and human rights violations as RSF fighters entered the city following an year-and-a-half blockade characterized by food shortages and sustained attacks.
The exodus of those running from the violence towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the recent days, according to United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.
Refugees were describing horrendous tales of violence, including sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was struggling to locate adequate shelter and food for them.
Each child was suffering from malnutrition, she commented.
Estimates suggest that in excess of 150,000 individuals are still stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last stronghold in the western region of Darfur.
The RSF has denied widespread accusations that the killings in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and resemble a pattern of the Arab fighters targeting non-Arab populations.
Yet the RSF has detained one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of summary executions.
The organization distributed recordings depicting the militiaman's arrest after identification that he was behind the death of multiple civilians close to el-Fasher.
Digital platform has acknowledged that it has suspended the channel connected to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had managed the profile in his name.
Sudan was thrown into a internal conflict in April 2023 following a brutal power struggle began between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.
This has led to a starvation emergency and accusations of genocide in the western Sudan.
In excess of 150,000 people have died in the war across the country, and roughly 12 million have fled their residences in what the United Nations has termed the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
The takeover of el-Fasher solidifies the geographic split in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of Sudan's west and significant areas of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the military occupying the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The opposing sides had been partners - taking over together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an globally supported initiative to move towards civilian leadership.