Over 60,000 Flee Sudan's City In the wake of Takeover by RSF Paramilitary Group, United Nations Says

Displaced people escaping violence in Sudan
Numerous are trying to get to the settlement of Tawila but face intimidation, extortion and mistreatment from armed men along the way

According to the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 civilians have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was captured by the paramilitary RSF recently.

Accounts suggest mass executions and human rights violations as RSF fighters took control of the city after an 18-month siege featuring starvation and intense shelling.

The flow of those running from the violence towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the recent days, per United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.

Refugees were telling horrendous stories of violence, including sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was having trouble to secure adequate accommodation and food for them.

Every child was suffering from undernourishment, she added.

Calculations indicate that more than 150,000 residents are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last bastion in the western part of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has rejected broad claims that the killings in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and follow a trend of the Arab fighters focusing on non-Arab populations.

However the paramilitary group has detained one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with summary executions.

The group distributed recordings depicting the militiaman's apprehension following identification that he was responsible for the killing of multiple non-combatants near el-Fasher.

Digital platform has verified that it has removed the channel connected to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had operated the account in his identity.

Sudan was thrown into a civil war in April 2023 following a vicious struggle for power broke out between its army and the RSF.

This has caused a famine and accusations of mass killing in the western Sudan.

More than 150,000 people have lost their lives in the war across the country, and approximately 12 million have fled their residences in what the United Nations has termed the most extensive humanitarian crisis.

The takeover of el-Fasher solidifies the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of western Sudan and significant areas of bordering Kordofan to the southern area, and the army holding the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea.

The two warring rivals had been partners - coming to power together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an internationally backed proposal to move towards democratic governance.

Mary Gaines
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