More than 36,000 Sudanese people have evacuated after capture of El Fasher to paramilitary group, reports UN agency
More than 36,000 civilians have escaped Sudan's Kordofan area eastern sector of Darfur beginning Saturday, as reported by the UN's immigration body.
The important central zone connecting the country's Darfur regions and the Khartoum-Riverine area has in recent weeks become the latest battleground in the 24-month civil conflict between the Sudanese army and the militia group.
Significant Displacement Numbers
An calculated 36,825 people escaped five areas in North Kordofan state between 26 October and 31 October, as reported by the International Organization for Migration.
The people, mainly traveling by foot, moved toward Tawila, a town west of El Fasher that is currently housing more than 652,000 refugees.
Heightened Troop Concentration
Local inhabitants of North Kordofan on Monday reported a heavy surge in both RSF and army presence across communities throughout the state.
Both armed factions are vying for control of El Obeid, the North Kordofan regional capital and a key logistics and command base that links Darfur to Khartoum.
"Today, all our forces have gathered at the Bara front here," stated an RSF member in a recently circulated video declaration.
Regional Inhabitants Describe Security Concerns
A resident of Um Smeima, located west of El Obeid, stated that the quantity of RSF vehicles had increased substantially since the group's takeover of El Fasher.
"We stopped going to our farms, concerned about fighting," the local explained.
Another civilian, who requested anonymity for security reasons, also confirmed that "there has been a substantial growth 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 "extensive crimes" and "ethnically motivated reprisals" by RSF in Bara.
The official cautioned about patterns echoing those in Darfur, where RSF fighters have been accused of mass killings, sexual violence and abductions against non-Arab ethnic groups.
The spiritual head on Sunday urged an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of humanitarian corridors in Sudan, stating that attacks on civilians and obstacles to humanitarian aid "are creating unacceptable suffering."
Sudan's diplomatic representative to Egypt on Sunday alleged RSF of carrying out war crimes in El Fasher and announced that the Sudanese government would not engage with the armed faction.
The representative further urged the global community to categorize the group as a terrorist organisation.
