🔗 Share this article In excess of 60,000 Run from Sudanese City Following Takeover by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, UN Reports Numerous are attempting to get to the town of Tawila but encounter intimidation, extortion and abuse from armed men along the way According to the UN refugee agency, more than 60,000 individuals have fled the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary RSF during the weekend. Accounts suggest mass executions and crimes against humanity as militia members entered the city after an 18-month encirclement characterized by food shortages and heavy bombardment. The exodus of those running from the conflict towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the last several days, per United Nations refugee agency representative. They were describing horrendous tales of abuses, including sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was having trouble to locate sufficient housing and supplies for them. Each child was suffering from nutritional deficiencies, she noted. Estimates suggest that in excess of 150,000 residents are currently trapped in el-Fasher, which had been the army's last bastion in the western part of Darfur. The Rapid Support Forces has disputed broad claims that the executions in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and resemble a pattern of the Arab paramilitaries focusing on non-Arab populations. Yet the paramilitary group has custodied one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of summary executions. The group shared video revealing the militiaman's apprehension following confirmation that he was behind the execution of several civilians in the vicinity of el-Fasher. Digital platform has acknowledged that it has suspended the account connected to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had operated the profile in his identity. Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 when a brutal struggle for power erupted between its military and the Rapid Support Forces. This has led to a starvation emergency and claims of mass killing in the western Sudan. In excess of 150,000 individuals have died in the fighting throughout the country, and about 12 million have left their homes in what the United Nations has called the most extensive humanitarian emergency. The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in dominance of Sudan's west and much of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the military controlling the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the Red Sea. The competing factions had been allies - coming to power together in a coup in 2021 - but fell out over an internationally backed proposal to move towards democratic governance.