🔗 Share this article In excess of 60,000 Run from Sudan's City After Takeover by RSF Paramilitary Group, United Nations States Many seek to reach the town of Tawila but face harassment, extortion and abuse from armed men along the way As stated by the UNHCR, more than 60,000 civilians have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was taken over by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces during the weekend. Reports indicate summary killings and crimes against humanity as paramilitary forces stormed the city after an 18-month siege characterized by food shortages and heavy bombardment. The flow of those escaping the conflict towards the community of Tawila, approximately 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had grown in the past few days, per UNHCR spokesperson. Survivors were describing horrendous accounts of violence, such as sexual violence, and the organization was finding it difficult to locate adequate housing and supplies for them. Every child was suffering from nutritional deficiencies, she added. It is estimated that more than 150,000 individuals are presently unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's last stronghold in the western region of Darfur. The RSF has denied extensive allegations that the killings in el-Fasher are driven by ethnicity and resemble a practice of the Arab paramilitaries targeting ethnic minorities. Yet the RSF has detained one of its members, Abu Lulu, who has been accused of summary executions. The force shared recordings showing the fighter's detention following verification that he was responsible for the execution of numerous non-combatants near el-Fasher. Social media platform has verified that it has removed the account linked to Lulu. Uncertainty exists whether he had managed the account in his identity. Sudan was entered a internal conflict in April 2023 following a intense contest for control began between its army and the Rapid Support Forces. The conflict has resulted in a food crisis and accusations of genocide in the western Darfur region. In excess of 150,000 individuals have lost their lives in the fighting across the country, and approximately 12 million have fled their residences in what the UN has described as the world's largest humanitarian emergency. The seizure of el-Fasher solidifies the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in command of western Sudan and significant areas of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the army occupying the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern areas along the coastal region. The opposing sides had been collaborators - coming to power together in a takeover in 2021 - but split over an globally supported initiative to transition to civilian leadership.