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

Refugees fleeing violence in the region
Numerous seek to get to the town of Tawila but experience harassment, demands for money and mistreatment from armed men during their journey

Per the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 people have left the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces over the weekend.

Reports indicate mass executions and atrocities as militia members took control of the city following an extended siege characterized by famine and heavy bombardment.

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

They were telling horrendous tales of abuses, such as rape, and the organization was struggling to find enough accommodation and nourishment for them.

All children was affected by undernourishment, she added.

Calculations indicate that over 150,000 people are presently unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last fortress in the western part of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has rejected broad accusations that the deaths in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a practice of the Arab militia groups attacking ethnic minorities.

Yet the RSF has custodied one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of extrajudicial killings.

The force distributed recordings revealing the member's arrest following confirmation that he was involved in the death of multiple civilians close to el-Fasher.

Digital platform has verified that it has removed the account connected to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had controlled the profile in his identity.

Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 following a vicious power struggle began between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.

It has caused a famine and allegations of ethnic cleansing in the Darfur area.

Over 150,000 persons have died in the war around the country, and approximately 12 million have left their homes in what the UN has termed the biggest global humanitarian emergency.

The capture of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of Sudan's west and a large portion of neighbouring Kordofan to the southern area, and the army holding the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the coastal region.

The opposing sides had been allies - gaining control together in a coup in 2021 - but fell out over an internationally backed initiative to move towards democratic governance.

Marc Middleton
Marc Middleton

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