At least 36,000 Sudanese have evacuated since fall of El Fasher to Rapid Support Forces, reports UN agency

In excess of 36,000 people have fled Sudan's Kordofan area eastern sector of Darfur since Saturday, as stated by the UN's migration agency.

The key central region between the country's Darfur provinces and the Khartoum-Riverine region has over recent weeks become the recent fighting area in the 24-month civil conflict between the Sudanese armed forces and the militia group.

Significant Exodus Figures

An estimated 36,825 people fled five localities in North Kordofan province between 26 October and 31 October, according to the International Organization for Migration.

The people, mainly traveling by foot, moved toward Tawila, a town western side of El Fasher that is currently sheltering more than 652,000 refugees.

Escalated Military Presence

Residents of North Kordofan on Monday reported a heavy surge in both RSF and army presence across towns and villages throughout the state.

Both armed factions are competing for control of El Obeid, the North Kordofan state capital and a important strategic and command center that links Darfur to Khartoum.

"Today, all our forces have gathered at the Bara front here," commented an RSF member in a recently circulated video statement.

Regional Residents Detail Safety Fears

A local inhabitant of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, reported that the quantity of RSF vehicles had increased considerably since the group's capture of El Fasher.

"We discontinued traveling to our farms, fearing confrontations," the local commented.

Another civilian, who sought confidentiality for protection purposes, also confirmed that "there has been a big increase in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El Obeid" over the last fourteen days.

World Alarms and Appeals

A senior UN official raised the alarm last week about "widespread abuses" and "ethnically motivated reprisals" by RSF in Bara.

The official cautioned about patterns comparable to patterns in Darfur, where RSF combatants have been alleged to commit mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against certain racial groups.

The church leader on Sunday called for an prompt truce and the opening of relief routes in Sudan, saying that attacks on civilians and obstacles to humanitarian aid "are producing unacceptable suffering."

Sudan's diplomatic representative to Egypt on Sunday accused RSF of committing war crimes in El Fasher and stated that the Sudanese government would not engage with the paramilitary group.

The representative further encouraged the global community to classify the group as a terrorist group.

Thomas Neal
Thomas Neal

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