🔗 Share this article More than 60,000 Flee Sudanese City After Capture by RSF Paramilitary Group, United Nations Reports Many seek to get to the settlement of Tawila but face harassment, extortion and mistreatment from armed men during their journey According to the United Nations refugee organization, over 60,000 people have left the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was captured by the militia Rapid Support Forces recently. Reports indicate mass executions and human rights violations as RSF fighters stormed the city after an extended encirclement marked by food shortages and sustained attacks. The exodus of those running from the fighting towards the town of Tawila, about 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the recent days, per United Nations refugee agency representative. They were describing terrible stories of abuses, including rape, and the agency was finding it difficult to secure adequate housing and supplies for them. Each child was suffering from nutritional deficiencies, she noted. It is estimated that in excess of 150,000 individuals are currently unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the army's final stronghold in the western region of Darfur. The Rapid Support Forces has disputed widespread claims that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and follow a pattern of the Arab paramilitaries targeting non-Arab populations. Yet the RSF has arrested one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of extrajudicial killings. The organization shared footage revealing the fighter's apprehension subsequent to confirmation that he was responsible for the execution of several unarmed men near el-Fasher. Social media platform has confirmed that it has suspended the channel linked to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had controlled the profile in his identity. Sudan was plunged into a civil war in April 2023 following a intense contest for control erupted between its army and the RSF. This has led to a food crisis and allegations of mass killing in the western Darfur region. Over 150,000 people have died in the fighting throughout the country, and roughly 12 million have left their homes in what the United Nations has called the world's largest humanitarian disaster. The seizure of el-Fasher reinforces the geographic split in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in command of Sudan's west and a large portion of bordering Kordofan to the southern area, and the military controlling the capital, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the coastal region. The opposing sides had been collaborators - coming to power together in a coup in 2021 - but split over an foreign-endorsed initiative to move towards civilian leadership.