🔗 Share this article

Per the UN refugee agency, over 60,000 civilians have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia RSF recently.

Reports indicate mass executions and atrocities as paramilitary forces entered the city after an 18-month blockade marked by starvation and heavy bombardment.

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

They were narrating horrendous accounts of atrocities, such as rape, and the agency was finding it difficult to secure enough shelter and nourishment for them.

All children was experiencing nutritional deficiencies, she noted.

Estimates suggest that over 150,000 people are currently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last bastion in the western region of Darfur.

The RSF has denied extensive claims that the executions in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and follow a pattern of the Arab fighters targeting non-Arab populations.

However the paramilitary group has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of on-the-spot executions.

The group distributed video revealing the militiaman's arrest after confirmation that he was involved in the killing of numerous unarmed men in the vicinity of el-Fasher.

Social media platform has verified that it has removed the profile connected to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had operated the profile in his identity.

Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 after a vicious power struggle broke out between its army and the Rapid Support Forces.

This has resulted in a famine and allegations of ethnic cleansing in the western Sudan.

Over 150,000 persons have lost their lives in the fighting throughout the country, and roughly 12 million have fled their dwellings in what the United Nations has termed the most extensive humanitarian emergency.

The seizure of el-Fasher solidifies the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in command of Sudan's west and much of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the military controlling the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea.

The two warring rivals had been collaborators - taking over together in a coup in 2021 - but disagreed over an foreign-endorsed proposal to transition to civilian leadership.