🔗 Share this article In excess of 60,000 Flee Sudan's City After Seizure by Rapid Support Forces Militia, United Nations Reports Numerous are trying to reach the town of Tawila but encounter harassment, demands for money and mistreatment from fighters along the way Per the UNHCR, more than 60,000 people have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the paramilitary RSF recently. Reports indicate summary killings and human rights violations as RSF fighters entered the city following an year-and-a-half encirclement characterized by food shortages and intense shelling. The exodus of those escaping the conflict towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the recent days, as stated by UNHCR spokesperson. Survivors were narrating shocking stories of atrocities, featuring rape, and the humanitarian group was struggling to secure adequate shelter and food for them. All children was suffering from undernourishment, she added. It is estimated that more than 150,000 residents are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last fortress in the western region of Darfur. The RSF has disputed widespread accusations that the executions in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and resemble a practice of the Arab paramilitaries focusing on non-Arab communities. Nevertheless the paramilitary group has arrested one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with summary executions. The organization distributed recordings showing the fighter's detention after identification that he was responsible for the execution of multiple unarmed men close to el-Fasher. Video sharing service has confirmed that it has removed the channel linked to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had operated the account in his identity. Sudan was thrown into a civil war in April 2023 after a intense power struggle erupted between its army and the RSF. This has resulted in a starvation emergency and allegations of ethnic cleansing in the Darfur area. Over 150,000 persons have lost their lives in the fighting around the country, and roughly 12 million have fled their residences in what the United Nations has described as the world's largest humanitarian emergency. The takeover of el-Fasher reinforces the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of western Sudan and a large portion of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the military occupying the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the coastal region. The opposing sides had been collaborators - taking over together in a coup in 2021 - but fell out over an globally supported plan to move towards civilian leadership.