In excess of 60,000 Flee Sudan's City In the wake of Capture by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations Reports
According to the UNHCR, in excess of 60,000 civilians have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was captured by the paramilitary RSF recently.
There have been mass executions and crimes against humanity as militia members stormed the city after an extended blockade featuring food shortages and intense shelling.
The movement of those fleeing the conflict towards the community of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the past few days, per United Nations refugee agency representative.
They were telling horrendous accounts of violence, such as sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was having trouble to secure adequate accommodation and supplies for them.
Every child was suffering from malnutrition, she commented.
Estimates suggest that more than 150,000 people are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last bastion in the western part of Darfur.
The RSF has rejected widespread accusations that the executions in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and mirror a trend of the Arab militia groups attacking non-Arab communities.
Yet the paramilitary group has arrested one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with on-the-spot executions.
The group shared video revealing the member's detention following identification that he was behind the killing of numerous unarmed men in the vicinity of el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has acknowledged that it has banned the account associated with Lulu. It is not clear whether he had controlled the account in his name.
Sudan was plunged into a civil war in April 2023 after a vicious power struggle broke out between its military and the RSF.
The conflict has caused a food crisis and claims of mass killing in the western Darfur region.
More than 150,000 people have died in the war around the country, and roughly 12 million have abandoned their homes in what the UN has termed the world's largest humanitarian disaster.
The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the regional separation in the country, with the RSF now in command of western Sudan and much of bordering Kordofan to the southern area, and the army occupying the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the coastal region.
The two warring rivals had been collaborators - coming to power together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an globally supported plan to advance to civilian rule.
