Over 60,000 Flee Sudan's City After Seizure by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, United Nations States

Refugees escaping violence in the region
Numerous are attempting to get to the town of Tawila but experience harassment, extortion and mistreatment from fighters during their journey

Per the UN refugee agency, over 60,000 individuals have escaped the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia RSF during the weekend.

There have been mass executions and human rights violations as RSF fighters took control of the city after an 18-month encirclement featuring starvation and heavy bombardment.

The exodus of those running from the violence towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the recent days, according to UNHCR spokesperson.

Refugees were describing terrible stories of abuses, including sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was struggling to find sufficient shelter and nourishment for them.

Every child was suffering from nutritional deficiencies, she added.

Estimates suggest that over 150,000 people are still unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining stronghold in the western part of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has rejected broad accusations that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and mirror a trend of the Arab paramilitaries focusing on non-Arab communities.

Yet the RSF has detained one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with on-the-spot executions.

The organization released footage showing the fighter's arrest following confirmation that he was responsible for the execution of multiple civilians in the vicinity of el-Fasher.

Video sharing service has confirmed that it has removed the account linked to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had operated the profile in his name.

Sudan was entered a domestic fighting in April 2023 after a vicious struggle for power began between its army and the RSF.

This has caused a starvation emergency and accusations of genocide in the western Darfur region.

More than 150,000 individuals have been killed in the war around the country, and about 12 million have abandoned their residences in what the United Nations has termed the world's largest humanitarian disaster.

The takeover of el-Fasher strengthens the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of western Sudan and significant areas of bordering Kordofan to the south, and the military controlling the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the Red Sea.

The opposing sides had been collaborators - taking over together in a takeover in 2021 - but split over an foreign-endorsed proposal to transition to civilian leadership.

Matthew Stone
Matthew Stone

A cultural anthropologist and travel writer specializing in Nordic regions, with over a decade of experience documenting Scandinavian traditions.