🔗 Share this article

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

Accounts suggest summary killings and atrocities as paramilitary forces stormed the city after an extended siege characterized by food shortages and heavy bombardment.

The exodus of those running from the violence towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the past few days, according to UNHCR representative.

Refugees were narrating horrendous stories of atrocities, including sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was struggling to find enough shelter and supplies for them.

Each child was experiencing undernourishment, she added.

Estimates suggest that more than 150,000 individuals are still trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's remaining fortress in the western region of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has disputed widespread allegations that the executions in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and mirror a practice of the Arab militia groups attacking non-Arab communities.

Nevertheless the paramilitary group has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of extrajudicial killings.

The group released video revealing the member's detention following confirmation that he was involved in the execution of multiple civilians in the vicinity of el-Fasher.

Digital platform has verified that it has suspended the profile connected to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had managed the profile in his identity.

Sudan was entered a domestic fighting in April 2023 when a vicious contest for control broke out between its military and the RSF.

The conflict has led to a starvation emergency and accusations of ethnic cleansing in the Darfur area.

Over 150,000 persons have been killed in the war across the country, and approximately 12 million have left their homes in what the UN has described as the world's largest humanitarian emergency.

The takeover of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of western Sudan and much of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the military occupying the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the coastal region.

The opposing sides had been collaborators - taking over together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an foreign-endorsed plan to transition to civilian leadership.