More than 60,000 Run from Sudanese City After Seizure by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations Reports

Refugees fleeing conflict in the region
Many are trying to get to the settlement of Tawila but experience harassment, demands for money and abuse from armed men during their journey

As stated by the UNHCR, over 60,000 civilians have escaped the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was captured by the paramilitary RSF recently.

Accounts suggest mass executions and human rights violations as paramilitary forces took control of the city after an 18-month encirclement marked by starvation and sustained attacks.

The movement of those escaping the conflict towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the past few days, as stated by UNHCR spokesperson.

Survivors were telling terrible tales of atrocities, such as sexual violence, and the agency was finding it difficult to find adequate shelter and nourishment for them.

Every child was suffering from nutritional deficiencies, she added.

Estimates suggest that over 150,000 individuals are currently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's remaining bastion in the western region of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has rejected widespread accusations that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a practice of the Arab fighters focusing on non-Arab populations.

Yet the paramilitary group has custodied one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with extrajudicial killings.

The force distributed recordings revealing the militiaman's apprehension following verification that he was responsible for the killing of several non-combatants in the vicinity of el-Fasher.

Video sharing service has acknowledged that it has removed the channel associated with Lulu. It is not clear whether he had operated the account in his name.

Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 after a intense struggle for power broke out between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.

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

Over 150,000 individuals have died in the fighting throughout the country, and approximately 12 million have fled their residences in what the UN has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in command of western Sudan and a large portion of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the army holding the main city, Khartoum, the center and east along the coastal region.

The two warring rivals had been allies - coming to power together in a takeover in 2021 - but fell out over an internationally backed plan to move towards civilian rule.

Jacob Kennedy
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