🔗 Share this article

According to the UN refugee agency, over 60,000 civilians have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia RSF over the weekend.

There have been multiple executions and human rights violations as militia members entered the city after an extended encirclement characterized by food shortages and intense shelling.

The flow of those running from the conflict towards the town of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the past few days, as stated by United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.

Survivors were narrating terrible tales of abuses, featuring rape, and the humanitarian group was struggling to locate sufficient accommodation and nourishment for them.

Each child was affected by malnutrition, she noted.

Calculations indicate that in excess of 150,000 residents are presently unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last fortress in the western region of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has denied extensive claims that the executions in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and follow a pattern of the Arab militia groups attacking non-Arab populations.

Nevertheless the RSF has custodied one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of summary executions.

The group distributed video depicting the member's detention subsequent to verification that he was behind the execution of numerous non-combatants near el-Fasher.

Social media platform has acknowledged that it has suspended the channel connected to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had operated the profile in his name.

Sudan was thrown into a internal conflict in April 2023 after a vicious struggle for power began between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.

This has led to a food crisis and claims of genocide in the western Darfur region.

In excess of 150,000 individuals have died in the fighting around the country, and roughly 12 million have left their residences in what the UN has called the world's largest humanitarian emergency.

The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the regional separation in the country, with the RSF now in command of the western region and a large portion of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the army occupying the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the coastal region.

The opposing sides had been partners - coming to power together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an internationally backed plan to transition to democratic governance.