More than 60,000 Run from Sudanese City In the wake of Capture by RSF Paramilitary Group, UN Reports
According to the UNHCR, more than 60,000 people have fled the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces recently.
Accounts suggest multiple executions and crimes against humanity as RSF fighters took control of the city after an 18-month siege marked by starvation and sustained attacks.
The movement of those escaping the violence towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the recent days, as stated by UNHCR representative.
Refugees were describing horrendous accounts of abuses, including sexual violence, and the agency was finding it difficult to find adequate shelter and food for them.
All children was suffering from undernourishment, she noted.
Calculations indicate that in excess of 150,000 individuals are still trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's final bastion in the western part of Darfur.
The RSF has denied extensive allegations that the executions in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and resemble a trend of the Arab paramilitaries focusing on non-Arab populations.
Nevertheless the paramilitary group has custodied one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with summary executions.
The group shared video showing the fighter's arrest subsequent to verification that he was involved in the death of several non-combatants close to el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has confirmed that it has suspended the profile linked to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had controlled the profile in his name.
Sudan was thrown into a domestic fighting in April 2023 following a brutal struggle for power began between its military and the RSF.
It has caused a famine and accusations of mass killing in the western Darfur region.
Over 150,000 individuals have been killed in the war around the country, and about 12 million have abandoned their homes in what the United Nations has called the most extensive humanitarian crisis.
The capture of el-Fasher strengthens the geographic split in the country, with the RSF now in command of western Sudan and much of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the military controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The opposing sides had been allies - coming to power together in a takeover in 2021 - but disagreed over an foreign-endorsed proposal to move towards civilian leadership.
