🔗 Share this article

According to the United Nations refugee organization, over 60,000 civilians have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia RSF over the weekend.

There have been multiple executions and atrocities as militia members took control of the city following an year-and-a-half encirclement marked by starvation and heavy bombardment.

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

They were narrating horrendous accounts of abuses, such as rape, and the humanitarian group was having trouble to find sufficient shelter and supplies for them.

Each child was suffering from nutritional deficiencies, she commented.

It is estimated that over 150,000 people are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's final stronghold in the western region of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has denied extensive allegations that the deaths in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and resemble a practice of the Arab militia groups focusing on non-Arab populations.

Nevertheless the RSF has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with extrajudicial killings.

The force released video depicting the fighter's apprehension subsequent to verification that he was involved in the death of numerous unarmed men close to el-Fasher.

Digital platform has confirmed that it has suspended the profile associated with Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had operated the profile in his identity.

Sudan was entered a civil war in April 2023 after a brutal power struggle began between its army and the RSF.

This has resulted in a starvation emergency and accusations of mass killing in the Darfur area.

In excess of 150,000 individuals have lost their lives in the conflict across the country, and approximately 12 million have abandoned their homes in what the United Nations has termed the world's largest humanitarian disaster.

The takeover of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in dominance of Sudan's west and much of adjacent Kordofan to the southern area, and the military holding the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.

The opposing sides had been allies - coming to power together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an globally supported plan to transition to civilian leadership.