🔗 Share this article Over 60,000 Escape Sudanese City Following Seizure by Rapid Support Forces Militia, UN Says Many are trying to reach the town of Tawila but face intimidation, demands for money and mistreatment from militiamen during their journey Per the United Nations refugee organization, in excess of 60,000 people have fled the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was seized by the militia RSF over the weekend. Accounts suggest multiple executions and atrocities as RSF fighters took control of the city after an extended siege featuring food shortages and sustained attacks. The movement of those escaping the violence towards the town of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, had increased in the last several days, per United Nations refugee agency spokesperson. Survivors were narrating terrible accounts of violence, such as sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was having trouble to secure enough housing and food for them. Every child was affected by nutritional deficiencies, she noted. It is estimated that more than 150,000 individuals are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining bastion in the western region of Darfur. The Rapid Support Forces has rejected widespread allegations that the killings in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a practice of the Arab fighters focusing on non-Arab communities. However the RSF has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of summary executions. The group shared recordings revealing the fighter's arrest subsequent to confirmation that he was involved in the death of numerous non-combatants close to el-Fasher. Social media platform has confirmed that it has suspended the profile associated with Lulu. It is not clear whether he had managed the profile in his name. Sudan was thrown into a internal conflict in April 2023 after a intense power struggle erupted between its military and the Rapid Support Forces. The conflict has caused a famine and allegations of mass killing in the western Sudan. In excess of 150,000 persons have been killed in the conflict around the country, and approximately 12 million have fled their dwellings in what the UN has described as the world's largest humanitarian emergency. The seizure of el-Fasher reinforces the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in dominance of Sudan's west and significant areas of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the military occupying the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the Red Sea. The two warring rivals had been allies - taking over together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an internationally backed plan to transition to civilian rule.