More than 60,000 Flee Sudan's City In the wake of Capture by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations Says

Refugees fleeing violence in the region
Numerous seek to get to the settlement of Tawila but face harassment, demands for money and mistreatment from fighters during their journey

According to the UNHCR, over 60,000 people have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the paramilitary RSF during the weekend.

Accounts suggest mass executions and crimes against humanity as RSF fighters entered the city after an extended blockade featuring starvation and intense shelling.

The movement of those escaping the violence towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the recent days, as stated by UNHCR spokesperson.

They were telling horrendous tales of violence, including rape, and the agency was struggling to find sufficient shelter and food for them.

Every child was affected by nutritional deficiencies, she commented.

It is estimated that more than 150,000 residents are presently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining bastion in the western region of Darfur.

The RSF has rejected extensive allegations that the deaths in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and follow a practice of the Arab paramilitaries focusing on non-Arab populations.

Nevertheless the RSF has detained one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of on-the-spot executions.

The force distributed footage showing the member's detention subsequent to verification that he was responsible for the execution of numerous unarmed men near el-Fasher.

Digital platform has verified that it has banned the profile linked to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had operated the profile in his identity.

Sudan was thrown into a internal conflict in April 2023 when a brutal power struggle began between its army and the RSF.

It has resulted in a food crisis and allegations of genocide in the western Darfur region.

More than 150,000 persons have been killed in the fighting throughout the country, and approximately 12 million have fled their residences in what the UN has described as the biggest global humanitarian disaster.

The capture of el-Fasher reinforces the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of Sudan's west and a large portion of neighbouring Kordofan to the southern area, and the army controlling the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the coastal region.

The two warring rivals had been collaborators - gaining control together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an foreign-endorsed plan to transition to civilian leadership.

Mr. William Kerr
Mr. William Kerr

An avid mountaineer and writer sharing insights from global expeditions and wilderness survival.