🔗 Share this article

Per the United Nations refugee organization, more than 60,000 individuals have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces during the weekend.

Reports indicate summary killings and crimes against humanity as paramilitary forces entered the city after an year-and-a-half blockade marked by famine and sustained attacks.

The movement of those escaping the conflict towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had grown in the past few days, per United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.

They were narrating horrendous stories of atrocities, featuring sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was having trouble to locate sufficient housing and nourishment for them.

Every child was affected by nutritional deficiencies, she commented.

Calculations indicate that over 150,000 residents are still trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining fortress in the western part of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has denied broad claims that the killings in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and follow a practice of the Arab fighters targeting non-Arab communities.

Nevertheless the paramilitary group has arrested one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with summary executions.

The group released recordings showing the militiaman's apprehension after verification that he was involved in the killing of several non-combatants in the vicinity of el-Fasher.

Digital platform has acknowledged that it has suspended the profile connected to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had controlled the profile in his identity.

Sudan was thrown into a domestic fighting in April 2023 following a brutal contest for control erupted between its military and the Rapid Support Forces.

It has led to a starvation emergency and allegations of genocide in the western Sudan.

Over 150,000 persons have been killed in the conflict throughout the country, and about 12 million have fled their residences in what the United Nations has described as the world's largest humanitarian disaster.

The takeover of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of Sudan's west and significant areas of adjacent Kordofan to the southern area, and the military occupying the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea.

The two warring rivals had been allies - gaining control together in a coup in 2021 - but split over an foreign-endorsed proposal to move towards civilian rule.