🔗 Share this article

As stated by the UN refugee agency, over 60,000 civilians have left the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia Rapid Support Forces recently.

Accounts suggest summary killings and atrocities as RSF fighters stormed the city following an extended siege marked by food shortages and sustained attacks.

The exodus of those running from the violence towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the recent days, as stated by United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.

They were narrating horrendous tales of atrocities, such as sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was struggling to find adequate shelter and supplies for them.

Each child was affected by malnutrition, she noted.

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

The Rapid Support Forces has denied widespread accusations that the killings in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a pattern of the Arab militia groups targeting ethnic minorities.

Nevertheless the paramilitary group has arrested one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in on-the-spot executions.

The group released footage depicting the member's apprehension after identification that he was involved in the execution of multiple non-combatants in the vicinity of el-Fasher.

Digital platform has confirmed that it has banned the account linked to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had controlled the account in his identity.

Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 when a brutal power struggle began between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.

It has caused a starvation emergency and allegations of genocide in the Darfur area.

More than 150,000 people have lost their lives in the war across the country, and about 12 million have left their homes in what the UN has termed the most extensive humanitarian disaster.

The seizure of el-Fasher solidifies the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of the western region and a large portion of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the military controlling the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the Red Sea.

The two warring rivals had been collaborators - coming to power together in a takeover in 2021 - but disagreed over an foreign-endorsed plan to move towards civilian leadership.