Only a few thousand people have reached the nearest displacement camp since Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces took control of el-Fasher, raising concerns for tens of thousands still trapped. Aid groups report widespread atrocities, including killings and assaults, as survivors struggle to escape the war-ravaged city.
The Rapid Support Forces took control of the western Darfur region last week, after ousting the rival Sudanese army from the city that was besieged for 18 months. Since then, reports and videos have circulated of RSF atrocities against civilians including beatings, killings and sexual assaults, according to testimonies by civilians and aid workers. The dead included at least 460 killed in the hospital, according to the World Health Organization.
The U.N. migration agency said Sunday it estimates that more than 8,000 people were displaced from el-Fasher on Saturday and Sunday. A total of 70,894 people have been displaced since the RSF took control, it said.
However, less than 6,000 have made it to the nearest camp in Tawila, 65 kilometers (40 miles) away, said Shashwat Saraf, Sudan director for the Norwegian Refugee Council, which runs the camp.
Almost 1,000 people arrived in the last three days, he said.
