In excess of 60,000 Run from Sudanese City Following Capture by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, United Nations States
Per the UN refugee agency, over 60,000 civilians have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia RSF recently.
There have been summary killings and atrocities as militia members took control of the city after an 18-month blockade featuring food shortages and heavy bombardment.
The movement of those running from the conflict towards the town of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the past few days, according to UNHCR spokesperson.
Refugees were describing shocking accounts of violence, featuring rape, and the organization was struggling to secure enough housing and supplies for them.
Each child was experiencing nutritional deficiencies, she noted.
It is estimated that more than 150,000 people are still trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's remaining stronghold in the western part of Darfur.
The RSF has rejected broad accusations that the killings in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and follow a practice of the Arab paramilitaries attacking ethnic minorities.
Yet the paramilitary group has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of extrajudicial killings.
The group shared footage showing the militiaman's detention following verification that he was behind the death of multiple unarmed men in the vicinity of el-Fasher.
Digital platform has verified that it has banned the profile associated with Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had operated the account in his name.
Sudan was plunged into a civil war in April 2023 when a brutal struggle for power began between its army and the Rapid Support Forces.
This has caused a food crisis and accusations of genocide in the Darfur area.
More than 150,000 people have died in the fighting across the country, and about 12 million have abandoned their dwellings in what the UN has described as the world's largest humanitarian emergency.
The seizure of el-Fasher solidifies the regional separation in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of the western region and significant areas of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the army occupying the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The competing factions had been partners - gaining control together in a takeover in 2021 - but split over an internationally backed initiative to advance to civilian leadership.