🔗 Share this article

Per the UN refugee agency, over 60,000 individuals have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the paramilitary RSF over the weekend.

Reports indicate summary killings and human rights violations as RSF fighters entered the city following an extended blockade characterized by food shortages and sustained attacks.

The flow of those escaping the conflict towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the last several days, per UNHCR representative.

They were describing shocking accounts of atrocities, such as sexual violence, and the organization was having trouble to locate enough housing and supplies for them.

Every child was suffering from nutritional deficiencies, she added.

Estimates suggest that in excess of 150,000 people are currently unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the army's final fortress in the western region of Darfur.

The RSF has rejected extensive claims that the killings in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and follow a trend of the Arab paramilitaries attacking non-Arab communities.

Yet the RSF has detained one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of summary executions.

The group shared footage depicting the fighter's apprehension following identification that he was involved in the death of multiple civilians close to el-Fasher.

Digital platform has verified that it has banned the profile linked to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had operated the account in his identity.

Sudan was thrown into a civil war in April 2023 when a vicious power struggle erupted between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.

The conflict has led to a starvation emergency and accusations of genocide in the western Darfur region.

In excess of 150,000 persons have lost their lives in the fighting around the country, and approximately 12 million have left their dwellings in what the United Nations has described as the most extensive humanitarian disaster.

The seizure of el-Fasher strengthens the regional separation in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of western Sudan and much of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the military controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea.

The two warring rivals had been collaborators - taking over together in a takeover in 2021 - but fell out over an globally supported initiative to advance to democratic governance.