In excess of 60,000 Escape Sudan's City After Seizure by RSF Militia, United Nations Reports
According to the UNHCR, over 60,000 individuals have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was captured by the militia Rapid Support Forces over the weekend.
Accounts suggest mass executions and atrocities as paramilitary forces stormed the city following an 18-month siege marked by famine and sustained attacks.
The movement of those running from the fighting towards the town of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the recent days, as stated by UNHCR representative.
Refugees were narrating horrendous tales of atrocities, including sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was finding it difficult to locate adequate accommodation and supplies for them.
Every child was affected by nutritional deficiencies, she added.
Calculations indicate that more than 150,000 residents are presently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last stronghold in the western region of Darfur.
The Rapid Support Forces has denied widespread claims that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a trend of the Arab fighters focusing on non-Arab communities.
Nevertheless the paramilitary group has arrested one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in extrajudicial killings.
The force released recordings revealing the fighter's apprehension subsequent to verification that he was responsible for the execution of multiple civilians in the vicinity of el-Fasher.
Video sharing service has verified that it has removed the channel associated with Lulu. It is not clear whether he had managed the account in his name.
Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 after a brutal struggle for power began between its military and the RSF.
This has resulted in a famine and allegations of genocide in the western Darfur region.
More than 150,000 people have died in the war around the country, and approximately 12 million have abandoned their homes in what the UN has termed the most extensive humanitarian emergency.
The seizure of el-Fasher solidifies the regional separation in the country, with the RSF now in control of the western region and significant areas of adjacent Kordofan to the southern area, and the army controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.
The two warring rivals had been collaborators - gaining control together in a coup in 2021 - but fell out over an globally supported proposal to advance to civilian rule.