🔗 Share this article

Per the UN refugee agency, over 60,000 civilians have left the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary RSF over the weekend.

There have been multiple executions and human rights violations as paramilitary forces stormed the city following an extended siege marked by starvation and heavy bombardment.

The movement of those fleeing the conflict towards the community of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the past few days, according to UNHCR representative.

Refugees were describing terrible accounts of atrocities, including sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was having trouble to find sufficient shelter and nourishment for them.

Each child was affected by malnutrition, she added.

Calculations indicate that over 150,000 people are presently unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining stronghold in the western region of Darfur.

The RSF has denied extensive allegations that the executions in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and resemble a practice of the Arab militia groups focusing on ethnic minorities.

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

The organization released recordings depicting the member's detention subsequent to identification that he was involved in the execution of several unarmed men in the vicinity of el-Fasher.

Video sharing service has confirmed that it has removed the profile associated with Lulu. It is not clear whether he had operated the account in his identity.

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

This has resulted in a food crisis and accusations of ethnic cleansing in the western Darfur region.

Over 150,000 individuals have died in the conflict across the country, and approximately 12 million have abandoned their homes in what the United Nations has termed the biggest global humanitarian disaster.

The takeover of el-Fasher reinforces the regional separation in the country, with the RSF now in control of Sudan's west and a large portion of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the military holding the main city, Khartoum, the center and east along the Red Sea.

The opposing sides had been partners - coming to power together in a takeover in 2021 - but split over an globally supported plan to move towards civilian leadership.