Khartoum (EFE).- At least 26,030 people have fled el-Fasher after the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the strategic city, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Monday.
El-Fasher was the last stronghold of the Sudanese Army in the entire Darfur region.
The United Nations agency said in a brief statement that its field teams estimated that 26,030 people were displaced due to the continuing fighting in el-Fasher between Oct. 26 and Oct. 27.
This number also includes the 3,000 civilians who fled the city on the same day it was captured by the RSF.
However, IOM warned that the figures were preliminary and could change due to persistent insecurity and rapidly evolving displacement dynamics.
According to the organization’s reports, most of the displaced have fled to the rural areas surrounding el-Fasher, while others have arrived in the nearby town of Tawila, while many were expected to head to Melit, also in the Sudanese state of North Darfur.
IOM said that their field teams reported a high level of insecurity on the routes and that “the situation remained tense and very volatile as fighting between paramilitaries and regular troops continued in and around el-Fasher.
After more than a year and a half of siege against the city, the RSF managed to capture el-Fasher on Sunday after taking control of the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division of the Sudanese Army, after which the paramilitary group entered the city and announced its “liberation.”
On Monday, the RSF said that they were launching large-scale tracking operations to eliminate the remaining Sudanese Army troops in el-Fasher, while local nonprofits have denounced that the paramilitaries killed unarmed civilians for “ethnic reasons” after taking over the city.
The war in Sudan, which started in April 2023, has caused tens of thousands of deaths, forced more than 13 million people to flee their homes and has made the country the scene of the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet, as half the population faces severe food insecurity, according to the UN. EFE
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