Over 60,000 Flee Sudanese City Following Takeover by RSF Paramilitary Group, United Nations Reports

Displaced people fleeing violence in Sudan
Numerous seek to get to the settlement of Tawila but experience harassment, demands for money and mistreatment from militiamen during their journey

As stated by the UN refugee agency, over 60,000 individuals have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was captured by the militia Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.

Reports indicate summary killings and atrocities as RSF fighters stormed the city after an 18-month siege marked by famine and intense shelling.

The flow of those escaping the violence towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had increased in the past few days, per United Nations refugee agency representative.

They were telling shocking accounts of violence, including rape, and the agency was having trouble to secure enough accommodation and nourishment for them.

Each child was experiencing undernourishment, she added.

It is estimated that in excess of 150,000 people are currently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last stronghold in the western region of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has denied extensive accusations that the killings in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a trend of the Arab fighters focusing on non-Arab communities.

Yet the paramilitary group has arrested one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of extrajudicial killings.

The group shared footage showing the member's arrest following identification that he was involved in the execution of several unarmed men in the vicinity of el-Fasher.

Video sharing service has verified that it has suspended the profile connected to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had operated the profile in his identity.

Sudan was thrown into a internal conflict in April 2023 after a vicious contest for control began between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.

It has led to a starvation emergency and accusations of genocide in the western Darfur region.

Over 150,000 individuals have been killed in the conflict around the country, and roughly 12 million have abandoned their homes in what the United Nations has termed the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

The capture of el-Fasher strengthens the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of the western region and significant areas of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the military controlling the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the coastal region.

The competing factions had been partners - taking over together in a takeover in 2021 - but split over an internationally backed initiative to advance to civilian rule.

Courtney Edwards
Courtney Edwards

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