More than 60,000 Run from Sudan's City After Capture by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, United Nations Says

According to the UNHCR, in excess of 60,000 civilians have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the militia RSF over the weekend.

Accounts suggest mass executions and crimes against humanity as RSF fighters took control of the city after an 18-month siege marked by food shortages and sustained attacks.

The exodus of those escaping the fighting towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the last several days, per UNHCR representative.

Refugees were describing horrendous stories of atrocities, featuring rape, and the agency was finding it difficult to secure enough accommodation and food for them.

Every child was affected by undernourishment, she commented.

Estimates suggest that in excess of 150,000 individuals are currently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining bastion in the western part of Darfur.

The RSF has rejected broad allegations that the killings in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and follow a pattern of the Arab paramilitaries attacking ethnic minorities.

Nevertheless the paramilitary group has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with on-the-spot executions.

The force released recordings revealing the fighter's apprehension subsequent to confirmation that he was behind the killing of several civilians in the vicinity of el-Fasher.

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

Sudan was entered a internal conflict in April 2023 when a vicious contest for control erupted between its army and the RSF.

It has led to a famine and allegations of mass killing in the Darfur area.

More than 150,000 individuals have lost their lives in the fighting around the country, and approximately 12 million have fled their dwellings in what the United Nations has termed the biggest global humanitarian emergency.

The seizure of el-Fasher reinforces the geographic split in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in control of Sudan's west and much of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the military controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the coastal region.

The opposing sides had been allies - taking over together in a takeover in 2021 - but split over an internationally backed plan to move towards civilian leadership.