Over 60,000 Run from Sudan's City Following Takeover by Rapid Support Forces Militia, UN States

According to the United Nations refugee organization, in excess of 60,000 civilians have escaped the city in Sudan of el-Fasher, which was seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces recently.

There have been summary killings and crimes against humanity as militia members stormed the city following an 18-month siege featuring famine and sustained attacks.

The flow of those running from the conflict towards the town of Tawila, roughly 80km (50 miles) west of el-Fasher, had accelerated in the last several days, according to United Nations refugee agency spokesperson.

Refugees were narrating terrible tales of atrocities, such as sexual violence, and the humanitarian group was struggling to secure enough accommodation and food for them.

Each child was suffering from undernourishment, she commented.

Estimates suggest that over 150,000 individuals are still unable to leave in el-Fasher, which had been the military's final stronghold in the western region of Darfur.

The Rapid Support Forces has disputed widespread allegations that the executions in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and resemble a practice of the Arab militia groups targeting non-Arab populations.

However the RSF has arrested one of its militiamen, Abu Lulu, who has been charged with extrajudicial killings.

The group shared recordings revealing the fighter's arrest following identification that he was behind the death of numerous non-combatants near el-Fasher.

Digital platform has confirmed that it has suspended the channel associated with Lulu. It is not clear whether he had operated the account in his name.

Sudan was entered a civil war in April 2023 after a vicious power struggle began between its army and the Rapid Support Forces.

It has led to a food crisis and allegations of genocide in the western Sudan.

In excess of 150,000 individuals have lost their lives in the fighting across the country, and roughly 12 million have abandoned their dwellings in what the UN has termed the biggest global humanitarian crisis.

The seizure of el-Fasher reinforces the territorial division in the country, with the RSF now in dominance of western Sudan and a large portion of adjacent Kordofan to the south, and the army controlling the main city, Khartoum, central and eastern regions along the Red Sea.

The two warring rivals had been collaborators - gaining control together in a seizure of power in 2021 - but disagreed over an globally supported initiative to move towards democratic governance.