🔗 Share this article More than 60,000 Run from Sudanese City After Capture by RSF Paramilitary Group, United Nations Reports Many seek to get to the town of Tawila but experience intimidation, extortion and abuse from militiamen along the way As stated by the United Nations refugee organization, over 60,000 civilians have fled the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was captured by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces over the weekend. Reports indicate summary killings and human rights violations as paramilitary forces stormed the city after an year-and-a-half siege featuring starvation and intense shelling. The flow of those fleeing the conflict towards the community of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had increased in the past few days, per UNHCR representative. Survivors were describing shocking stories of atrocities, featuring sexual violence, and the agency was struggling to find adequate housing and supplies for them. Each child was suffering from nutritional deficiencies, she added. Estimates suggest that in excess of 150,000 people are still unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last bastion in the western region of Darfur. The Rapid Support Forces has denied extensive allegations that the killings in el-Fasher are based on ethnic factors and follow a pattern of the Arab fighters targeting non-Arab populations. Nevertheless the paramilitary group has arrested one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with on-the-spot executions. The group released video revealing the member's apprehension following confirmation that he was responsible for the death of numerous unarmed men close to el-Fasher. Video sharing service has confirmed that it has removed the channel associated with Lulu. It is not clear whether he had managed the account in his name. Sudan was entered a internal conflict in April 2023 after a intense contest for control broke out between its army and the RSF. The conflict has caused a food crisis and allegations of mass killing in the western Sudan. More than 150,000 persons have lost their lives in the conflict across the country, and about 12 million have abandoned their residences in what the UN has termed the world's largest humanitarian emergency. The capture of el-Fasher reinforces the regional separation in the country, with the Rapid Support Forces now in dominance of western Sudan and significant areas of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the army occupying the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the coastal region. The competing factions had been partners - taking over together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but split over an foreign-endorsed initiative to move towards democratic governance.