🔗 Share this article

Per the United Nations refugee organization, over 60,000 people have left the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia RSF over the weekend.

There have been mass executions and crimes against humanity as paramilitary forces took control of the city following an 18-month blockade featuring famine and heavy bombardment.

The exodus of those running from the violence towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the last several days, as stated by United Nations refugee agency representative.

They were narrating horrendous tales of violence, such as sexual violence, and the organization was having trouble to locate enough accommodation and food for them.

Every child was suffering from undernourishment, she added.

It is estimated that in excess of 150,000 residents are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining fortress in the western part of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has rejected widespread allegations that the deaths in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a practice of the Arab fighters focusing on non-Arab communities.

Yet the paramilitary group has custodied one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in extrajudicial killings.

The group distributed video depicting the militiaman's detention after identification that he was responsible for the killing of several unarmed men close to el-Fasher.

Digital platform has confirmed that it has suspended the profile linked to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had operated the profile in his name.

Sudan was entered a domestic fighting in April 2023 after a vicious power struggle erupted between its army and the RSF.

This has led to a starvation emergency and allegations of mass killing in the Darfur area.

Over 150,000 individuals have died in the fighting around the country, and about 12 million have fled their residences in what the UN has termed the most extensive humanitarian emergency.

The takeover of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of the western region and significant areas of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the military holding the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the coastal region.

The opposing sides had been collaborators - coming to power together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an globally supported initiative to move towards civilian leadership.