Sudan: Militias terrorize civilians – tens of thousands flee

Following the capture of the major city of al-Fashir in the western Sudanese region of Darfur by the RSF militia, tens of thousands of people have fled to a nearby refugee camp. According to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 26,000 people have already arrived at the camp, some 60 kilometers away. "The new arrivals report dangerous movements and horrific mistreatment," wrote UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on the online platform X.

Al-Fashir was the army's last stronghold in the western region of Darfur, a center of violence in the war that has been ongoing since 2023. Militias allied with the army accused the RSF ("Rapid Support Forces") of killing more than 2,000 civilians during its capture of the town. The victims were primarily women, children, and the elderly, the Joint Forces said on Facebook. These figures cannot be independently verified.

According to a representative of the UN refugee agency UNHCR, refugees from al-Fashir reported arbitrary violence, killings, and executions of people with disabilities. Others were shot while trying to flee. Many stayed behind because they were unable or too weak to flee, said Jacqueline Wilma Parlevliet, head of the UNHCR field office in Sudan .

The city's up to 300,000 residents, which had been under siege by the RSF militia for a year and a half, faced torture in detention, looting, extortion, rape, and the recruitment of children into armed groups. According to the Sudanese Doctors Network, more than 1,000 people were detained, including a well-known journalist and several medical professionals. The UNHCR urged all parties to refrain from violence, especially attacks against civilians.

The situation in the Tawila camp was already dire. By the summer, approximately 400,000 people had fled there within a few months, including from other camps captured by the RSF militia. According to aid organizations, there is a lack of safe drinking water and food, as well as latrines. Diseases such as cholera are now spreading.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been ravaged by a brutal power struggle between de facto ruler Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the RSF. Observers fear a permanent split in the country. More than 12 million people are displaced. More than 26 million people, about half the population, are threatened by famine.