Over 60,000 Run from Sudanese City After Capture by Rapid Support Forces Militia, UN Says

Displaced people fleeing violence in Sudan
Numerous are trying to get to the town of Tawila but experience intimidation, demands for money and abuse from militiamen along the way

According to the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 people have left the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the paramilitary RSF over the weekend.

Accounts suggest multiple executions and atrocities as militia members took control of the city following an year-and-a-half blockade featuring starvation and heavy bombardment.

The exodus of those fleeing the fighting towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had increased in the last several days, as stated by UNHCR spokesperson.

They were telling horrendous stories of abuses, including sexual violence, and the organization was finding it difficult to secure enough housing and food for them.

Every child was experiencing nutritional deficiencies, she noted.

It is estimated that more than 150,000 individuals are presently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last fortress in the western part of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has rejected extensive claims that the deaths in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and mirror a pattern of the Arab fighters focusing on non-Arab populations.

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

The force shared video showing the militiaman's arrest after verification that he was behind the execution of several unarmed men in the vicinity of el-Fasher.

Digital platform has confirmed that it has removed the profile linked to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had managed the profile in his identity.

Sudan was entered a internal conflict in April 2023 after a vicious power struggle began between its army and the Rapid Support Forces.

This has resulted in a starvation emergency and claims of genocide in the western Darfur region.

In excess of 150,000 individuals have been killed in the conflict around the country, and about 12 million have abandoned their homes in what the UN has termed the biggest global humanitarian emergency.

The seizure of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in command of Sudan's west and a large portion of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the military controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.

The two warring rivals had been collaborators - taking over together in a coup in 2021 - but split over an globally supported initiative to advance to civilian rule.

Morgan Harper
Morgan Harper

A tech journalist and digital strategist with over a decade of experience covering emerging technologies and their impact on society.