🔗 Share this article

According to the UN refugee agency, more than 60,000 civilians have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces over the weekend.

There have been summary killings and crimes against humanity as paramilitary forces stormed the city after an year-and-a-half siege featuring famine and intense shelling.

The flow of those fleeing the fighting towards the town of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had increased in the recent days, according to UNHCR spokesperson.

Refugees were telling terrible accounts of atrocities, featuring sexual violence, and the agency was having trouble to find adequate housing and food for them.

All children was affected by malnutrition, she noted.

Estimates suggest that more than 150,000 individuals are still unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last stronghold in the western part of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has denied extensive allegations that the deaths in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and resemble a trend of the Arab militia groups attacking non-Arab communities.

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

The group shared footage showing the militiaman's detention following identification that he was behind the death of several civilians near el-Fasher.

Digital platform has acknowledged that it has suspended the profile connected to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had operated the account in his name.

Sudan was plunged into a domestic fighting in April 2023 following a brutal struggle for power erupted between its military and the RSF.

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

Over 150,000 persons have been killed in the fighting across the country, and about 12 million have left their residences in what the United Nations has termed the most extensive humanitarian crisis.

The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of the western region and much of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the army holding the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the coastal region.

The opposing sides had been allies - taking over together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but fell out over an internationally backed initiative to transition to civilian leadership.