🔗 Share this article More than 60,000 Flee Sudanese City Following Capture by RSF Paramilitary Group, United Nations States Numerous seek to reach the settlement of Tawila but face intimidation, extortion and mistreatment from militiamen during their journey According to the UNHCR, in excess of 60,000 civilians have fled the Sudanese city of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary RSF during the weekend. There have been summary killings and atrocities as RSF fighters entered the city following an 18-month blockade marked by food shortages and intense shelling. The movement of those running from the conflict towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the past few days, per United Nations refugee agency representative. Survivors were describing shocking tales of violence, including sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was struggling to find enough housing and food for them. All children was suffering from undernourishment, she commented. Estimates suggest that in excess of 150,000 people are currently stranded in el-Fasher, which had been the military's remaining stronghold in the western part of Darfur. The RSF has rejected widespread accusations that the killings in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and mirror a practice of the Arab militia groups attacking non-Arab communities. However the paramilitary group has custodied one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of extrajudicial killings. The group distributed recordings revealing the member's apprehension following identification that he was involved in the killing of numerous non-combatants in the vicinity of el-Fasher. Social media platform has acknowledged that it has banned the channel connected to Lulu. It is not clear whether he had controlled the profile in his identity. Sudan was plunged into a internal conflict in April 2023 following a vicious power struggle broke out between its army and the RSF. It has resulted in a starvation emergency and accusations of ethnic cleansing in the western Sudan. More than 150,000 persons have been killed in the conflict across the country, and approximately 12 million have abandoned their homes in what the UN has termed the biggest global humanitarian emergency. The seizure of el-Fasher solidifies the regional separation in the country, with the RSF now in command of the western region and a large portion of adjacent Kordofan to the southern area, and the military controlling the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea. The two warring rivals had been partners - gaining control together in a coup in 2021 - but split over an internationally backed initiative to advance to democratic governance.