🔗 Share this article In excess of 60,000 Escape Sudan's City Following Takeover by RSF Paramilitary Group, UN Reports Numerous are trying to reach the settlement of Tawila but encounter harassment, demands for money and abuse from militiamen along the way Per the United Nations refugee organization, in excess of 60,000 civilians have escaped the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia Rapid Support Forces recently. There have been multiple executions and human rights violations as militia members took control of the city after an year-and-a-half blockade marked by food shortages and sustained attacks. The flow of those escaping the conflict towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the last several days, per United Nations refugee agency spokesperson. Refugees were describing horrendous tales of violence, such as sexual violence, and the organization was struggling to secure sufficient shelter and supplies for them. Every child was suffering from nutritional deficiencies, she added. Estimates suggest that over 150,000 people are presently unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the army's remaining fortress in the western part of Darfur. The RSF has denied extensive claims that the deaths in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a pattern of the Arab fighters focusing on non-Arab communities. Nevertheless the RSF has custodied one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been implicated in extrajudicial killings. The group released video showing the member's apprehension subsequent to confirmation that he was involved in the execution of numerous unarmed men in the vicinity of el-Fasher. Social media platform has verified that it has suspended the profile connected to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had managed the account in his name. Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 following a intense power struggle erupted between its military and the RSF. The conflict has resulted in a starvation emergency and claims of genocide in the western Sudan. Over 150,000 persons have lost their lives in the war around the country, and about 12 million have abandoned their homes in what the United Nations has described as the world's largest humanitarian emergency. The capture of el-Fasher strengthens the geographic split in the country, with the RSF now in command of western Sudan and significant areas of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the military controlling the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the coastal region. The two warring rivals had been collaborators - coming to power together in a takeover in 2021 - but disagreed over an internationally backed proposal to advance to democratic governance.