🔗 Share this article More than 60,000 Run from Sudanese City After Takeover by Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary Group, UN Says Numerous are attempting to reach the settlement of Tawila but encounter intimidation, demands for money and abuse from armed men during their journey According to the UN refugee agency, more than 60,000 people have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary RSF during the weekend. Reports indicate multiple executions and crimes against humanity as paramilitary forces took control of the city after an 18-month siege marked by starvation and heavy bombardment. The exodus of those running from the conflict towards the town of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the last several days, per UNHCR spokesperson. Refugees were describing horrendous stories of atrocities, featuring rape, and the agency was having trouble to secure sufficient shelter and supplies for them. All children was affected by nutritional deficiencies, she added. It is estimated that more than 150,000 residents are still unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last fortress in the western region of Darfur. The RSF has denied broad accusations that the executions in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and follow a practice of the Arab paramilitaries attacking non-Arab communities. Nevertheless the paramilitary group has detained one of its fighters, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with extrajudicial killings. The organization distributed video revealing the militiaman's detention after confirmation that he was involved in the killing of multiple civilians in the vicinity of el-Fasher. Video sharing service has confirmed that it has suspended the account linked to Lulu. The status remains unclear whether he had controlled the account in his name. Sudan was plunged into a civil war in April 2023 after a brutal power struggle erupted between its army and the Rapid Support Forces. It has caused a starvation emergency and allegations of mass killing in the western Sudan. More than 150,000 persons have lost their lives in the war around the country, and roughly 12 million have abandoned their homes in what the United Nations has called the most extensive humanitarian emergency. The takeover of el-Fasher solidifies the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in control of the western region and a large portion of neighbouring Kordofan to the south, and the military controlling the capital, Khartoum, the center and east along the Red Sea. The competing factions had been collaborators - coming to power together in a takeover in 2021 - but disagreed over an foreign-endorsed initiative to advance to civilian rule.