In excess of 60,000 Flee Sudanese City After Seizure by RSF Paramilitary Group, UN States

As stated by the United Nations refugee organization, in excess of 60,000 civilians have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia RSF during the weekend.

There have been summary killings and atrocities as paramilitary forces entered the city after an year-and-a-half blockade marked by food shortages and sustained attacks.

The movement of those fleeing the conflict towards the town of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had increased in the last several days, as stated by UNHCR spokesperson.

They were describing shocking tales of abuses, including rape, and the agency was finding it difficult to locate enough shelter and food for them.

Every child was affected by malnutrition, she noted.

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

The Rapid Support Forces has denied broad accusations that the deaths in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and follow a pattern of the Arab militia groups focusing on non-Arab communities.

Nevertheless the paramilitary group has custodied one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in on-the-spot executions.

The group distributed recordings revealing the member's arrest subsequent to verification that he was behind the execution of multiple non-combatants close to el-Fasher.

Social media platform has acknowledged that it has banned the channel associated with Lulu. It is not clear whether he had controlled the profile in his name.

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

It has led to a starvation emergency and allegations of ethnic cleansing in the western Sudan.

Over 150,000 individuals have died in the war across the country, and approximately 12 million have abandoned their dwellings in what the UN has termed the most extensive humanitarian emergency.

The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of Sudan's west and a large portion of neighbouring Kordofan to the southern area, and the army occupying the main city, Khartoum, the center and east along the coastal region.

The competing factions had been collaborators - taking over together in a coup in 2021 - but split over an globally supported plan to advance to civilian rule.