🔗 Share this article

As stated by the UNHCR, over 60,000 individuals have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.

Reports indicate mass executions and crimes against humanity as RSF fighters took control of the city following an year-and-a-half siege marked by famine and sustained attacks.

The flow of those escaping the violence towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the last several days, per UNHCR spokesperson.

Refugees were narrating shocking stories of violence, such as sexual violence, and the agency was finding it difficult to find enough housing and food for them.

Each child was affected by nutritional deficiencies, she added.

It is estimated that over 150,000 residents are presently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's final stronghold in the western region of Darfur.

The RSF has denied widespread claims that the deaths in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and follow a trend of the Arab fighters attacking non-Arab populations.

However the paramilitary group has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in extrajudicial killings.

The group shared video showing the member's apprehension subsequent to identification that he was behind the killing of numerous non-combatants in the vicinity of el-Fasher.

Social media platform has confirmed that it has banned the account associated with Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had managed the account in his name.

Sudan was entered a domestic fighting in April 2023 after a brutal power struggle began between its army and the RSF.

This has led to a famine and accusations of ethnic cleansing in the western Darfur region.

More than 150,000 people have lost their lives in the fighting around the country, and roughly 12 million have left their homes in what the UN has called the biggest global humanitarian crisis.

The capture of el-Fasher strengthens the geographic split in the country, with the RSF now in control of Sudan's west and much of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the army controlling the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the coastal region.

The two warring rivals had been partners - taking over together in a takeover in 2021 - but disagreed over an globally supported initiative to advance to civilian leadership.