In excess of 60,000 Escape Sudan's City Following Seizure by RSF Militia, United Nations Says

Per the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 people have escaped the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was captured by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.

Reports indicate summary killings and crimes against humanity as militia members took control of the city following an 18-month encirclement marked by food shortages and sustained attacks.

The flow of those running from the violence towards the community of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the past few days, according to UNHCR representative.

They were narrating shocking tales of violence, featuring rape, and the organization was finding it difficult to secure enough shelter and supplies for them.

Every child was suffering from malnutrition, she commented.

Calculations indicate that over 150,000 individuals are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining fortress in the western region of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has rejected widespread claims that the deaths in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and resemble a practice of the Arab fighters focusing on ethnic minorities.

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

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

Digital platform has acknowledged that it has suspended the channel associated with Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had managed the profile in his name.

Sudan was thrown into a domestic fighting in April 2023 after a brutal power struggle erupted between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.

The conflict has resulted in a famine and allegations of genocide in the Darfur area.

More than 150,000 people have died in the war across the country, and approximately 12 million have left their dwellings in what the United Nations has called the biggest global humanitarian emergency.

The capture of el-Fasher strengthens the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in dominance of western Sudan and much of adjacent 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 collaborators - gaining control together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an globally supported plan to advance to civilian rule.