Over 60,000 Run from Sudanese City Following Capture by RSF Militia, United Nations Says

Displaced people escaping violence in Sudan
Numerous are attempting to get to the settlement of Tawila but encounter harassment, extortion and abuse from armed men along the way

According to the United Nations refugee organization, in excess of 60,000 civilians have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the paramilitary RSF recently.

Reports indicate multiple executions and human rights violations as militia members stormed the city after an extended siege featuring food shortages and intense shelling.

The movement of those running from the violence towards the town of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the recent days, according to United Nations refugee agency representative.

They were describing shocking stories of abuses, featuring sexual violence, and the agency was struggling to locate enough housing and food for them.

All children was suffering from malnutrition, she commented.

Estimates suggest that over 150,000 individuals are still unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last stronghold in the western region of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has disputed widespread allegations that the killings in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a trend of the Arab fighters targeting ethnic minorities.

However the paramilitary group has detained one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with on-the-spot executions.

The organization shared video showing the militiaman's arrest following verification that he was involved in the death of multiple civilians close to el-Fasher.

Digital platform has acknowledged that it has banned the channel linked to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had managed the account in his identity.

Sudan was thrown into a internal conflict in April 2023 when a intense struggle for power broke out between its army and the RSF.

The conflict has led to a famine and claims of ethnic cleansing in the western Sudan.

In excess of 150,000 persons have lost their lives in the fighting around the country, and roughly 12 million have fled their dwellings in what the United Nations has called the biggest global humanitarian crisis.

The capture of el-Fasher reinforces the regional separation 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 regions along the Red Sea.

The opposing sides had been collaborators - coming to power together in a takeover in 2021 - but fell out over an foreign-endorsed plan to move towards civilian leadership.

Katherine Wright
Katherine Wright

A tech enthusiast and writer with a passion for exploring emerging technologies and their impact on society.