More than 36,000 Sudanese people have escaped following takeover of El Fasher to Rapid Support Forces, says UN agency
In excess of 36,000 individuals have evacuated from Sudan's Kordofan territory east of Darfur beginning Saturday, as reported by the UN's immigration body.
The strategic central area between the country's Darfur areas and the Khartoum-Riverine region has in recent weeks become the latest battleground in the extended civil war between the Sudanese military forces and the paramilitary group.
Significant Evacuation Numbers
An approximated 36,825 people escaped five localities in North Kordofan state between 26 October and 31 October, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The people, mainly traveling by foot, headed to Tawila, a town to the west of El Fasher that is currently housing in excess of 652,000 refugees.
Heightened Forces Deployment
Residents of North Kordofan on Monday reported a heavy surge in both RSF and army deployment across towns and villages throughout the state.
Both military groups are competing for control of El Obeid, the North Kordofan provincial capital and a key logistics and command center that connects Darfur to Khartoum.
"Today, all our forces have converged on the Bara front here," stated an RSF member in a recently shared video declaration.
Area Residents Describe Safety Fears
A local inhabitant of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, described that the amount of RSF vehicles had grown significantly since the group's capture of El Fasher.
"We discontinued traveling to our farms, fearing fighting," the resident explained.
Another civilian, who requested anonymity for security reasons, also reported that "there has been a big increase in army vehicles and weapons west and south of El Obeid" over the last fourteen days.
International Alarms and Calls
A senior UN official raised the alarm last week about "widespread abuses" and "ethnically motivated reprisals" by RSF in Bara.
The diplomat alerted to patterns echoing those in Darfur, where RSF combatants have been accused of mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against specific ethnic communities.
The religious leader on Sunday urged an immediate ceasefire and the creation of relief routes in Sudan, declaring that attacks on civilians and impediments to humanitarian aid "are producing unacceptable suffering."
Sudan's official envoy to Egypt on Sunday alleged RSF of committing war crimes in El Fasher and announced that the Sudanese government would not engage with the militia organization.
The representative further encouraged the world nations to classify the group as a terrorist organisation.